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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shrine
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“Leader. Where are you planning to infiltrate…?”
“We’ll target the south and north.”
Jin Cheongang pointed to the south and north of Haenam Island while looking down at the map in front of him. Samho, who had asked the question, expressed doubt while looking at the places he pointed to.
“Isn’t it too far?”
“That’s why we have to go that way. Since our direction of approach is set, they will strengthen their defenses in the north and west. We’ll draw their attention with a small separate unit in the north, and in that gap, we’ll infiltrate from the south.
Once we land, it’s the shortest distance to the Haenam Sword Sect, so if we move quickly, we can reach there in no time.
We’ll get there as fast as possible and… erase the Haenam Sword Sect from the Central Plains. That’s our goal.”
“…The decoy team will become a disposable piece.”
“For victory, someone has to be sacrificed.”
Jin Cheongang looked at his gathered subordinates with bitter eyes.
If they don’t win, they will all die.
Even if they win… they won’t achieve a victory without shedding a single drop of blood.
Jin Cheongang blankly stared at the waves crashing against the cliff. The time to cross those waves and land on Haenam Island was not far off.
“Who will be the decoy?”
“Leader! I will do it!”
“Sixteen.”
Starting with Sixteen, the members of the Black Shark Squad began to stand up one after another. When ten people had stood up like that, Jin Cheongang called those ten and lined them up.
“Being the decoy will be no different from carrying straw into a fire. You may die a dog’s death without being able to do anything. Even so, will you voluntarily take on the role of decoy?”
“Leave it to us! We will do it splendidly!”
Sixteen, who had stood up first, answered in a loud voice. Jin Cheongang smiled with satisfaction at his answer and took out a wooden box from his chest.
As he opened the lid of the wooden box, three balls the size of baseballs were revealed along with the smell of gunpowder.
He picked one of them and carefully placed it in the hand of his subordinate.
“It’s a precious item. Use it wisely.”
“Yes, sir!”
Jin Cheongang handed over the precious item, of which the Heavenly Demon Cult had barely given him three, to his subordinate and turned his back.
“Set sail. The sun will set soon, so the Holy Fire will watch over us.”
“When the Heavenly Demon descends, Ten Thousand Demons Bow Down!”
The shout of the Black Shark Squad shattered on the waves and sank into the water.
—
“…Have you heard of the term ‘Weiweijiuzhu’?”
Weiweijiuzhu
Regardless of its origin, it refers to an indirect strategy.
“I know of it.”
The day after I ordered the poison.
While helping with the war preparations, I immediately sought out the Sect Leader when a possibility came to my mind.
Unlike usual, in the hall where the Sect Leader was, he was looking at a map and discussing with his senior disciple.
“We know that they will invade Haenam Island. And…”
“They also know that we have realized that fact. Right?”
“That’s right.”
If both sides know that they will attack and defend, what cards are there to play? My conclusion was that there was no choice but to perform a diversionary operation.
If they want to overcome the special environment of an island, that’s the wisest choice, Dividing in half and entering in two paths is also a usable method, but…
That method had a fatal problem, so the probability of choosing it was low.
No matter how many of them there are, there will only be hundreds of them, so if they split that in half and one side is annihilated, the other side will also be overwhelmed by numbers and fall meaninglessly.
Therefore, my prediction was a diversionary operation.
“Hmm… Your words also make sense. However, if what you say is true, there is a big problem. There are 4 places we need to guard, and if they enter from two directions as you say…”
Does it mean there’s no way to know where they will enter?
The only way is to either guess about half of it by luck or calculate the shortest distance assuming they know the geography of this place.
“The closest landing point to the Haenam Sword Sect is the southern pier. If they want to finish the job as quickly as possible, the south is the most advantageous.”
“However, they could also enter through the west or east to strike our weak point, couldn’t they?”
“That’s why communication between us is important. Place at least 3 people with keen night vision at the beacon and have them light it the moment they notice any signs. They need to inform us as soon as they see something.”
That possibility can’t be ignored either.
It was regrettable that we had no choice but to disperse our personnel to some extent because of that possibility.
It would be really troublesome if we were also defeated individually.
Should I consider it fortunate that it’s an island? Since it’s surrounded by water on all sides, the number of strategies that can be used is greatly reduced.
If they had cannons, it would be a different story, but even the demon cult, which boasts a formidable scale for a single force, couldn’t have mobilized cannons.
If they mobilized that, it wouldn’t be the martial arts world that handled it but the military that would step up.
No matter how insane the demon cult bastards are, they wouldn’t want to fight against the military.
“I understand. I will firmly instruct them. And the fishermen are currently working hard to extract the fish poison. When I told them it was to feed the enemies, they volunteered to do it themselves.”
The fishermen are also working hard to protect Haenam Island.
“And if possible, please have them collect manure as well. Just applying manure to the arrowheads will be quite effective.”
“Oh my… I understand.”
“Sir William, can I also hear your advice on troop deployment?”
“I think it would be good to deploy the elders so that they can actively step forward.”
Skilled martial artists need to take the lead to minimize casualties.
It may seem like we’re using the elderly, but they would also willingly step forward. Who wouldn’t fight when the demon cult bastards are invading to destroy their hometown?
“What will you do, Sir William?”
“I will take the lead of the main force.”
“…The vanguard is the most dangerous position.”
“I have always stood at the vanguard. And it will be more helpful for morale if the person who devised the strategy takes the lead rather than hiding behind.”
A knight always takes the lead position.
I had no intention of breaking that iron rule.
“…Don’t die.”
“Don’t worry. I have always survived even in worse situations than this.”
If you wish to die, you will live; if you wish to live, you will die.
I smiled, recalling the words that I had only considered a wise saying but had come to understand through my 2 years of living.
“We will win.”
—
A pitch-black night where even the stars in the night sky were not visible.
The ten members of the decoy unit, who had boarded a medium-sized ship, looked at each other.
“Let’s have a drink before our final operation.”
“Thirty-two. When did you bring alcohol?”
“I secretly bought it when I went to buy food last time. This is called Bamboo Leaf Blue. Doesn’t it sound delicious just by the name?”
Thirty-two boasted and put down the porcelain bottle containing Bamboo Leaf Blue on the floor. The appearance of the luxurious liquor bottle made the corners of the decoy unit’s mouths rise involuntarily.
“You rascal, you know about these things too.”
“Did you volunteer to drink this secretly?”
“You weakling…”
“Let’s each have a sip. Even if we’re going to die, we should at least wet our lips with expensive alcohol, shouldn’t we?”
“I love you, Thirty-two!”
“I told you, there’s no one like you!”
“Cancel what I just said!”
“Shut up, you bastards. Get ready to drink.”
A mission that was no different from a suicide mission.
However, for those who had been raised knowing no other way of life, they couldn’t even think of other options.
“Then I’ll go first…”
Thirty-two carefully pulled out the cap of the bottle containing Bamboo Leaf Blue, as if handling a fragile object.
As he removed the cap, the strong fragrance of Bamboo Leaf Blue, which stung the nose, filled the surroundings.
“I’ll go first…”
Thirty-two gained the right to take the first sip as the purchaser. The martial artist of the demon cult, who had just become an adult, poured the liquor into a white porcelain cup he had secretly brought and downed it in one gulp.
“Gulp… It’s really strong.”
Thirty-two’s face turned bright red in an instant.
It was because he had downed a drink with an alcohol content of 43 percent in one go. He giggled and muttered.
“This is liquor…”
“I’m next.”
Sixteen, who was right next to him, gulped down a cup of Bamboo Leaf Blue in a hearty motion.
As the slightly sweet yet intense scent of medicinal herbs permeated his mouth, his face turned red like an apple.
“If I could drink this every day, I would have no regrets…”
At his words, Thirty-two chuckled and spoke.
“I thought all liquor tasted bad, but it was just that the liquor in Xinjiang was crappy.”
“It must be the cheap liquor we drank that was crappy.”
“Hurry up and pass the cup!”
And so, the ten members shared a cup of liquor each and stood up from their seats with flushed faces.
“Thanks to Thirty-two, we’re living it up at the end.”
“Come on, let’s go prepare before the order to set sail is given.”
They began to prepare for departure, staggering but doing as they always had.
Before long, the folded sails were unfurled, and the ship gradually began to move forward.
“It’s refreshing~”
“So, what are you going to do? Sixteen.”
“Throw it.”
“What?”
“Just throw it in. And show them the taste of the Lightning Bomb.”
A plan that sounded reckless.
But none of the ten members of the decoy unit objected to his words.
“Yeah, if we’re going to go, we should go out in style.”
“It’ll be a spectacular coming-of-age ceremony.”
Everyone snickered and looked in the direction of Haenam Island.
“If even one of us survives, let’s buy expensive liquor and sprinkle it in the sea. Don’t drink it all by yourself.”
Those who had been raised as swords to strike the Haenam Sword Sect all their lives silently nodded their heads.
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Cliff hanger
Bomb !