Chapter 10: Qualities of a Martial God (3)
The military conference room of Hanzhong.
The commanders of the corps had gathered in one place. A map of the Central Plains was spread across the long table. The six commanders waited in silence for General Jang-yang to arrive.
After a short while, someone broke the silence. It was Yang Yeon-jeong, the commander of the spear corps and the highest-ranking officer among them.
“Commander Wi Jin-cheol. I hear you have been training elite soldiers in the sword infantry behind our backs.”
“Aren’t we all trying to train our recruits into elites?”
“There is no need to play coy. I already know everything.”
Wi Jin-cheol tilted his head in confusion. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Haha. Are you going to deny it? Aren’t you selecting the best recruits from the sword unit and training them separately every morning?”
Wi Jin-cheol craned his neck, looking utterly bewildered. “What?”
“I caught a glimpse of them early this morning. Their movements are something my spearmen could never match. Their skills are already far superior to regular soldiers. Tell me, what is your secret?”
Wi Jin-cheol let out a dumbfounded laugh. He had never given such an order.
Besides, the recruits were already undergoing grueling, bone-crushing training all day. Who in their right mind would skip sleep to train separately without being ordered to?
Wi Jin-cheol’s gaze shifted to the soldier guarding the conference room door.
“Yu-gwang. Come here for a moment.”
He was a soldier from the sword infantry who assisted with daily chores and recruitment training. Wi Jin-cheol whispered in his ear in a low voice.
—Why is that man accusing me of secret training? Is there something happening that I don’t know about?
—Commander, did you not order it? It is the guys from Squad 16. They have been sneaking out to the training grounds every morning to practice their swordsmanship.
Sending the soldier back, Wi Jin-cheol fell into thought.
Come to think of it, Squad 16’s combat strength had been rising at an unnatural speed lately. Furthermore, the recruits he favored most in the sword unit were all in Squad 16.
Hmm, is that so?
Suddenly, Wi Jin-cheol straightened his shoulders.
“Well, I was hoping to keep it a secret, but I guess I can’t hide it anymore. In truth, I have been raising a special unit within the sword infantry.”
The commanders’ attention locked onto him. While most looked at him in admiration, one man frowned in disapproval. It was Baek Moon-hwi, who was in charge of the scouts.
“A special unit in the sword infantry? Are you saying my scouts are not enough?”
“Three hundred scouts cannot handle every role. Our forces are severely outnumbered, so we need elite shock troops capable of shattering the enemy’s vanguard and breaking through their lines.”
“What did you say?”
His pride wounded, Baek Moon-hwi was about to snap back when he quickly shut his mouth. General Jang-yang had just entered the conference room.
As the commanders stood to salute, Jang-yang walked to the head of the table and spoke.
“Commander Wi Jin-cheol, you have done well. Taking the initiative to train our men is highly commendable. You will lead the sword unit as our vanguard.”
Jang-yang had overheard their conversation. Wi Jin-cheol rejoiced inwardly. Because of Yang Yeon-jeong’s exceptional abilities, he had expected the spearmen to take the vanguard, but the roles had been reversed.
Soldiers in the vanguard received better treatment and pay than those in the wings, and the same went for their commanders. Though it meant little in a small garrison, the title of vanguard itself was a symbol of great honor.
While Wi Jin-cheol beamed with pride, Jang-yang sat and gestured.
“Sit, everyone.”
Studying the map, Jang-yang looked up and addressed Commander Kwak Cheol, who was in charge of intelligence.
“What is the situation at Chang’an Fortress?”
Kwak Cheol hesitated before answering in a low, grim voice.
“I hear it could not hold out for even half a day.”
That Chang’an would fall was expected, as they had left only a skeleton crew to defend it.
But the problem was that even that skeleton crew was larger than their entire force in Hanzhong. If they couldn’t last half a day, the situation was truly dire. The room fell silent.
“Sigh… do we know the enemy’s numbers?”
“They have a hundred thousand troops. They are currently plundering the city.”
The moment Kwak Cheol spoke, Jang-yang slammed his palm onto the table.
Crash!
“Plundering the city!”
“Their atrocities are beyond description. The city is in flames, and women and children are being taken as slaves.”
Tears welled in Jang-yang’s eyes. “What will become of our poor people…”
No one spoke for a long time.
After a few minutes, Yang Yeon-jeong asked quietly, “Hanzhong is next. Are there no reinforcements?”
“We cannot expect help from Xiangyang. The main force of the Hui army is heading there. Furthermore, the three hundred thousand troops who conquered Western Xia will soon march south. To hold them back, we must defend Hanzhong at all costs.”
“Following Mongolia, Western Xia has fallen. Now only our Song Dynasty and Goryeo remain.”
“Goryeo is holding out better than expected, but it could fall at any moment.”
A dark shadow fell over the commanders’ faces. The situation was far more hopeless than they had imagined. The sheer might of the Hui Dynasty, which possessed the most powerful army in the history of the Central Plains, was terrifying.
Jin-rip, who led the archers, asked cautiously, “Should we request aid from General Han Se-chung?”
Military Governor Han Se-chung. He was known as ‘a match for ten thousand men’. Along with Yue Fei, he was revered as one of the two greatest generals of the Song Dynasty, and by martial arts standards, he was considered the strongest expert in the empire’s history.
Jang-yang shook his head.
“He is currently subduing rebels in the south. It will take months. We cannot rely on reinforcements. But if we utilize our advantages, we might stand a small chance.”
The commanders looked confused. Compared to the enemy, they had no advantages in either numbers or quality.
Jang-yang looked around the table.
“We know our enemy, but they look down on us. They think we are nothing but five thousand raw recruits.”
The recruitment notice for Hanzhong had been posted throughout Shaanxi. The Hui army was undoubtedly aware of it.
If the elite troops of the Song Dynasty had been crushed, the enemy would view these recruits as mere insects. Even the other garrisons of the Song Dynasty believed Jang-yang was wasting his time.
Yang Yeon-jeong asked, “What is your plan?”
Jang-yang looked at the map. “We must strike them when they are careless. Commander Kwak Cheol, expand our scouting perimeter and report every movement of the enemy.”
***
Beyond the horizon, the morning light began to swallow the darkness. It was the hour when most recruits were enjoying their sweetest sleep.
Yet, there were recruits who had been training throughout the night. It was Squad 16 of the Sword Infantry, practicing their forms at the training grounds.
Seeing themselves grow stronger by the day, they refused to sleep. They merely napped during breaks and regulated their breathing through meditation to relieve their fatigue.
But how could they know? The reason their progress was so swift was because they were being guided by the legendary Sword Saint.
A hundred recruits stood at regular intervals, practicing the forms of the Heavenly Martial Sword Technique, and So-mu was running among them, sweating as he corrected their stances.
“Brother So-mu! I keep losing my balance on the Sixth Form. What am I doing wrong?”
So-mu ran over and tapped the Jungchu acupoint on the recruit’s back.
“Your center of gravity is shifting too far to one side. Focus your weight here when you conclude the form.”
Before So-mu could catch his breath, another recruit called out.
“Brother So-mu, I’ve made no progress on the Eighth Form since yesterday. Please help me!”
So-mu reflexively dashed over, grabbing the recruit’s wrists from behind. Moving the recruit’s arms, he guided him through the physical motion.
“Imagine an opponent stands before you. Thrust into their chest, then slice across their neck. The final strike must be explosive, with all your might.”
Swish!
“Always remember the feeling of tearing the air.”
Sensing the technique, the recruit bowed repeatedly. “Thank you, brother! Thank you!”
So-mu let out a long sigh as he walked away.
Sigh. I’ve dug my own grave.
What he had started for fun on the first day had now become a daily chore.
In the Jianghu, no one would dare to order him around like this. Yet these naive recruits, completely unaware of his true identity, treated him like their personal instructor. Though it was exhausting, So-mu found a small warmth in it. Watching his squad members grow was quite rewarding.
Il-gwang was training on his own. After having his meridians cleared, his progress was natural, so So-mu had no worries about him.
The problem was Cheong-hae, who stood next to him. Since his excommunication, he had sealed away all of the Mount Hua Sect’s sword techniques. Through sheer effort, he had memorized all eighteen forms of the Heavenly Martial Sword Technique, but his barrier was not the physical movements. He was currently stuck, staring blankly at the horizon with his sword lowered.
“Brother Cheong-hae, what is troubling you?”
“Sigh. My swordsmanship has stalled. No matter how much I swing, it feels like a meaningless repetition. It is as if I have hit a wall.”
So-mu knew exactly what Cheong-hae was lacking. He needed enlightenment to reach the next stage. With a casual expression, So-mu spoke.
“In times like this, it is best to clear your head. When I was frustrated, I would read poetry. I happen to remember one. Want to hear it?”
Cheong-hae nodded. So-mu looked toward the distant mountains and recited softly.
“Within softness lies hardness. If softness and hardness coexist, what is there that cannot be destroyed?
Within slowness lies speed. If slowness and speed coexist, what could be more fluid?
Within emptiness lies reality. If emptiness and reality coexist, what is there that cannot be breached?”
So-mu glanced at Cheong-hae. The young Taoist’s eyes were trembling with sudden realization.
“How is it? Do you feel your mind clearing?”
Cheong-hae did not answer. He merely picked up his sword and immediately began to move.
So-mu walked away with a smile. I suppose that is everyone for today.
It was then. So-mu’s gaze locked onto the entrance of the training ground fifty zhang away. He had detected a presence.
A familiar figure stood there. He was watching the squad with a proud, paternal smile on his face. It was Wi Jin-cheol, the commander of the sword infantry.