Chapter 108 :

Chapter 108. The Grand Journey of Pandemonium (7)

Moyong Jaehwa accepted the bow with a bewildered expression.

“B-but, Elder Brother, how could I possibly……”

“Do you not know how to use a bow?”

“N-no, that is not it……”

I took hold of his fingers.

Thick calluses had formed on his index finger, middle finger, and thumb, with no telling how many times they had split and healed.

They were not calluses that could form on a swordsman’s hands.

“What is the problem?”

“……”

Moyong Jaehwa looked toward the injured Baek Wongak.

Then he looked at the warriors of the Moyong Family who were watching him.

“Did you promise not to use miscellaneous skills when you left your family?”

The Moyong Family was ashamed that its eldest son, Moyong Jaehwa, was more absorbed in miscellaneous skills than swordsmanship.

“What? How did you……”

“Which is more important right now, that promise or those people’s lives?”

“Of course……”

“Then is that not enough?”

And so, the emergence of Moyong Jaehwa, the One Bow Against a Thousand, the Bow Breaker, was delayed for a very long time.

I placed a quiver into the arms of the yearning Moyong Jaehwa.

“You cannot save them with a sword. You can save them with a bow. What is there to hesitate over?”

I did not need the Bow Breaker who would emerge only after the destruction of the Moyong Family.

I did not need the Bow Breaker who would stand alone against the Demonic Cult’s great army after the tide of the Righteous-Demonic War turned in their favor.

“Forget whatever Sword Breaker said. When protecting those precious to you, what does it matter whether you use a sword or a bow? You need only use what you are good at.”

“……!”

Moyong Jaehwa’s eyes shook violently.

“Is there anything left to consider?”

“That is not it. I have never learned archery. I merely used a bow alone whenever I played……”

I chuckled.

“Do not worry. I will teach you what I learned.”

The Bow Breaker who had once stood alone in Guizhou against ten thousand members of the Hell Hungry Ghost Corps would now stop the Twelve Peaks Fortress.

Moyong Jaehwa felt completely bewildered.

How did Jin Sowoon know that he enjoyed shooting a bow?

And what did he mean by telling him to use it to hold back the enemy?

He had only ever shot a bow to clear his mind.

Whenever he practiced archery, he stopped worrying about himself and his family.

But now he was being told to use it to stop an enemy.

He had no idea how he was supposed to do that.

“Uwaaagh!”

His body suddenly rose into the air in Jin Sowoon’s grasp, and the ground rapidly fell away beneath him.

They landed atop the same tree where the Young Master of the Ghost Bow Sect had been hiding.

“Among the people I knew, there was someone who once tried to stop ten thousand enemies alone.”

Jin Sowoon drew an arrow.

“He stepped forward alone without fear to buy enough time for millions of people to evacuate.”

In the distance, members of the Twelve Peaks Fortress could be seen racing toward them after spotting the signal flare fired by the Ghost Bow Sect.

“Everyone thought it was impossible. Something like that belonged only in myths.”

Moyong Jaehwa forgot that he was trapped in a desperate situation and became absorbed in the story, swallowing nervously.

“Wh-what happened?”

“He stopped them.”

“My goodness!”

“People call the sword the king of all weapons, do they not? But after witnessing that sight with my own eyes, I thought differently. The sword may be the king of all weapons, but the most terrifying weapon in the world is the bow.”

The members of the Twelve Peaks Fortress charged down the wide official road without hesitation.

They looked ready to arrive at any moment, and sweat formed on Moyong Jaehwa’s hands.

“E-Elder Brother.”

Jin Sowoon leisurely drew the bowstring.

“Watch carefully. This is the archery he left behind.”

Twang.

The arrow traced a clean arc as it flew toward the Twelve Peaks Fortress.

However, a single arrow was far too little to stop nearly five hundred people.

“Huh?”

Moyong Jaehwa’s eyes widened.

The arrow Jin Sowoon had fired began splitting into dozens.

Neigh!

The charging warriors and horses of the Twelve Peaks Fortress were startled and stopped in place.

“How did you use the Ghost Bow Sect’s illusory arrows……?”

“It does not belong to the Ghost Bow Sect.”

“What?”

“What I learned was how to place my own enlightenment within an arrow. I merely placed the Taeul Sect’s sword art inside that arrow.”

Jin Sowoon then began reciting the essential formula of the archery he had just demonstrated.

“Is it truly all right for you to teach this to me?”

Moyong Jaehwa had studied martial arts more deeply than most from childhood.

He understood how advanced this archery was and how many years it must have taken to complete.

“I was merely preserving it. I have only delivered it to the person he wanted most to receive it.”

“You mean that person is me?”

“He believed he had lost his family because of his indecisiveness. He hoped his art would one day become the answer for someone troubled by the same dilemma. I do not meet that condition, but you are his rightful successor.”

“What is its name?”

“It has none. He wished for its successor to name it.”

“Then… I will call it the Heaven-Shattering Divine Bow.”

A strange smile appeared on Jin Sowoon’s face.

“How arrogant.”

“No. It is a martial art magnificent enough to deserve such a name.”

“Then there is nothing left for you to hesitate over, is there?”

“No. Could you buy me one quarter-hour?”

It was impossible for Moyong Jaehwa to absorb the full essence of the Heaven-Shattering Divine Bow in such a short time.

He extracted only the most important principles and combined them with the Heaven and Earth Wave-Splitting Sword.

For some reason, the principles that had sounded complicated when explained through the formula began producing wonderfully clear and satisfying answers when woven together with the Heaven and Earth Wave-Splitting Sword.

It was as though two separated halves had finally reunited.

The members of the Twelve Peaks Fortress, who had been startled by Jin Sowoon’s illusory arrows, cautiously began raising their heads again.

Jin Sowoon fired another arrow.

This time, the party waiting below also fired with him.

Real arrows concealed within the illusion pierced the bodies of the Twelve Peaks Fortress warriors, forcing them to hide again.

After repeating the process several times, alternately hiding and raising their heads to avoid the arrows, the enemy began moving busily behind cover.

Soon, they raised shields to protect the front of their formation.

Twang.

Whoosh!

The real arrows concealed within Jin Sowoon’s illusion fell upon the heads of the Twelve Peaks Fortress warriors, but every one of them was blocked by shields.

Moreover, every second shot was intercepted by a thrown flying sword.

The imperfect illusory arrows had been countered.

The distance had already closed to around eighty jang.

“Are you still not finished?”

“Ah! I-I am sorry. The Heaven and Earth Wave-Splitting Sword fit so perfectly that I tried combining it with the Flashing Cloud-Dividing Sword……”

“You fool! Focus. Captain Baek’s life depends on you.”

“Yes!”

Moyong Jaehwa answered and nocked an arrow.

Even though he stood atop a tree, his body did not sway in the slightest.

He briefly closed his eyes.

The moment he opened them—

The arrow flew in a straight line rather than an arc.

It did not split into dozens.

There was only one.

The warriors of the Twelve Peaks Fortress sneered when they saw the lone arrow and even lowered their shields, preparing to knock it away with their swords.

The arrow pierced the right shoulder of the warrior attempting to deflect it and drove him backward by two jang.

Horse-Piercing Arrow.

An arrow capable of piercing through a horse and continuing through the armored warrior riding atop it.

The warriors of the Twelve Peaks Fortress were horrified by its power.

They became tangled together as they retreated behind boulders.

Before long, not a single person remained within Moyong Jaehwa’s sight.

The road ahead was completely open.

“You saved Captain Baek.”

The people who had been charging forward to slaughter Moyong Jaehwa’s companions no longer made even the slightest sound.

That sudden silence felt overwhelmingly exhilarating to him.

An arrow flew with a deep resonance different from Jin Sowoon’s.

This Martial Academy examination was filled with chaos.

Nothing could be predicted.

In the southeastern region, bandits and Japanese raiders had joined forces, causing countless examinees to fail the first stage.

In the northwestern region, people believed to belong to a heretical faction had clashed with the examinees, unintentionally producing a large number of withdrawals.

In the northeastern region, the Intelligence Department was investigating nearly five hundred deaths and the unidentified individuals believed responsible.

As in the previous examination, the results could not be predicted.

Unexpected people frequently failed or suddenly rose to prominence.

Among them, Daoist Myeonghyeon had been closely observing the movements of the Twelve Peaks Fortress.

When they stopped at Mount Song and ceased advancing, he summoned the members of the Righteous Path Association within the Elder Hall.

“We should never have placed our hopes in them from the beginning. Was their original purpose not to recruit the Taeul Sect?”

“In the end, the two sides turned against each other. Is that not a good thing?”

“That is not the problem. Some members of the Twelve Peaks Fortress have reportedly lost their entrance plaques.”

The Righteous Path Association contained sixteen people.

That was more than half of the thirty members of the entire Elder Hall.

Considering that every one of them was capable of shaking the world with a single hand, their gathering should have carried immense weight.

Perhaps because they understood that, they never stopped blaming one another.

“Now, now. Please calm yourselves. How can our Righteous Path Association accomplish its great undertaking unless we stand united?”

Daoist Myeonghyeon, the current leader of the Righteous Path Association, spoke solemnly.

However, more than a few people clicked their tongues at his words.

His campaign promise to place the Intelligence Department beneath the Righteous Path Association had been repeatedly delayed.

As a result, doubts that had always existed regarding his qualifications had resurfaced.

“Forget unity. The name of the Righteous Path Association is about to be dragged through the dirt. What will we do if none of our people enter the Martial Academy as the top student?”

“Then nothing can be done.”

“My goodness! How can you say that?”

Daoist Myeonghyeon had been deeply frustrated when his plan to pressure Jegal Somyeong into placing one of his disciples in the Intelligence Department fell apart.

However, Jin Sowoon, the person who had ruined that plan in the first place, continued causing chaos.

Because of that, Myeonghyeon believed another opportunity had appeared.

“Association Leader, do you not understand that allowing the Taeul Sect to enter the Martial Academy could greatly affect the future order of the Martial Alliance?”

Despite the stern question, Daoist Myeonghyeon leisurely stroked his beard.

“Ha ha. Why speak as though it were some catastrophe? Was the Martial Academy not founded to select and cultivate talented people through fair methods so they could work for peace in the murim world? How could it be a bad thing for them to strengthen themselves and gain admission?”

“Ahem.”

Everyone already knew that.

However, the academy’s stated purpose was one thing, while the principles governing the real world were another.

“I suspect Elder Cheon’s true concern is Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect entering as the top student.”

“Exactly! That is precisely what I mean.”

The Martial Academy assigned responsibility and authority strictly according to performance.

The overall character of each class changed depending on who entered as the top student.

The students’ freedom was important, but for the future of the Martial Alliance, eliminating anything that might cause disorder was even more important.

“I thought the Twelve Peaks Fortress might finally accomplish something useful, but they disappointed us as expected. It seems we will have to act ourselves.”

“Association Leader, what are you saying? Do you not understand what could happen if we privately interfere in the Martial Academy examination?”

“Of course we must not interfere privately. But Elder Gang, do you truly wish to see a Taeul Sect disciple enter as the top student?”

“Ahem.”

“Moreover, do you know this? Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect, who is currently expected to place first, is someone to whom the Chief Strategist once personally gave an entrance plaque.”

“What? Why would such a person take the examination?”

“Why he chose to take the examination and where that plaque went are not important. The problem is that Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect is someone Jegal Somyeong is watching closely.”

“What do you think will happen if Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect enters the Intelligence Department or even Simhyeon Pavilion?”

“My goodness.”

“For the first time since Chief Strategist Jegal took control of the Intelligence Department, a graduate of the Martial Academy would enter it. And that graduate would be a disciple of the Taeul Sect.”

The Intelligence Department was the institution that moved the Martial Alliance.

Controlling it meant being able to move the Martial Alliance freely.

And if someone entered it as a graduate of the academy?

No one could imagine what a young man with such enormous authority might do.

“Until recently, the Taeul Sect was considered a sect that should perhaps be removed from the Hundred and Eight Peaks altogether. If a disciple of a sect that suffered such contempt enters the Intelligence Department and gains power, do you truly believe peace within the Martial Alliance will continue?”

“He will shake the order of the Martial Alliance under the names of reform and progress.”

The elderly members of the Elder Hall closed their eyes and sighed, as though even imagining it terrified them.

Now that everyone’s attention had shifted toward Jin Sowoon and the Taeul Sect, no one continued criticizing Daoist Myeonghyeon over the Intelligence Department.

To them, sharing authority with someone they had always considered insignificant was far more frightening than failing to bring the Intelligence Department under the Elder Hall’s control.

“He is correct. When an unqualified person swings a sword, innocent people inevitably bleed.”

Even the elders who had looked upon Daoist Myeonghyeon with contempt began nodding one after another.

It was truly easy.

Daoist Myeonghyeon felt grateful to Jin Sowoon, against whom he had once ground his teeth.

“We wish to hear the Association Leader’s wise opinion.”

“We wish to hear the Association Leader’s wise opinion.”

Their voices were filled with courtesy and impatience.

Daoist Myeonghyeon allowed the silence to heighten their anxiety for a moment.

Then he moistened his lips and began to speak.