Book 7 Chapter 28

Encounter with the Iron-Hoofed Flying Horse Unit

"How about luring them here and then attacking?" Bai Muye said, pointing to one side of the map. He had come along under the pretense of being Cheong Heun's friend. It was his belief that he couldn't let his friend rush into a death trap alone. His actions, which usually seemed cold and unmoved by anything without profit, were met with great surprise by those around him. Of course, no one refused his company, and therefore he was able to be present at this location.

"Then it would be an ambush." Cheong Heun chimed in from the side. Bai Muye nodded.

"This terrain, with its dense forest, would be advantageous in stopping their Iron-Hoofed Flying Horses," he said. There was no terrain more conducive to impeding cavalry than a dense forest. The problem was whether they could actually lure them into the forest. Namgung Sang said in a grave tone, "The question is whether they will fall for our deception. They aren't fools, are they?"

How good it would be if they were fools! But it was safe to say there was not even a sliver of a chance. The Iron-Hoofed Flying Horse Unit boasted an undefeated record. Underestimating them risked serious repercussions.

"We'll need a bait!" Cheong Heun exclaimed.

"We are too few compared to the enemy. This method seems to be the best option. They are a group of peak experts capable of performing Qi Gong formations and even grand charges. Only those who have experienced their might firsthand truly know it. Even though I've only heard rumors, I could still grasp their power just from that. I can't understand what the higher-ups at Cheonmu Academy were thinking by entrusting such a significant task to us. Not by my common sense!"

After complaining for a moment, Bai Muye began to explain his plan at length. It was a plan that was a perfect epitome of conventional tactics, with not a single aspect deviating from military strategy. However, there was one person who poured cold water on his otherwise perfect plan in the current situation.

"Why do we need to devise such a intricate scheme?" Everyone looked at Biryu Yeon with dumbfounded expressions. Yeom Do quickly covered his own terribly contorted face with his hands. The path ahead seemed bleak.

"Before any battle, whether it's large or small in scale or nature, it is natural to devise a strategy. It's a very common sense thing to do."

"Is that so?" Moyong Hwi, who had been listening carefully, furrowed his brow slightly at Biryu Yeon's clueless expression. His wounds, not yet healed, throbbed. Everyone had advised him not to go in his unhealed state, but he insisted on following due to his sense of responsibility.

Bai Muye had no choice but to go to the trouble of explaining. He instinctively sensed that if he didn't, Biryu Yeon might resort to some unreasonable demands.

"For a small group to face a larger force, a strategy is absolutely necessary. To blindly expose ourselves before the enemy without any plan is madness!" These were sensible words, not deviating an inch from what was written in books. However, they didn't work…

"Madness…?" The way he repeated the word in his mouth suggested an ominous atmosphere. The first to sense this atmosphere was Namgung Sang. By now, he could vaguely understand Biryu Yeon's disposition.

"You… you're not planning to stand in front of that Iron-Hoofed Flying Horse Unit empty-handed, are you? That would be…" He swallowed the words 'that would be something only a madman would do!' back down his throat, too afraid to risk his life by uttering them.

"Why? Can't I?" Biryu Yeon retorted. Namgung Sang didn't feel grateful for Biryu Yeon, who kindly stamped confirmation on his foreboding feelings.

"Of course, you can't."

"Why?"

"That's…" When asked directly, he couldn't readily think of an answer.

"Why?" Biryu Yeon urged him for an answer.

"Because… it goes against common sense."

"Common sense?" Biryu Yeon looked utterly perplexed. It seemed he had never considered the concept of common sense before.

"Because you can never win that way. That's why we seek the best way to win. That's common sense."

"Why is it so complicated?" Biryu Yeon complained.

"Because it's common sense! It's called common sense because things don't go well if you deviate from it!" Everyone nodded in agreement with Gungsang's words. Suddenly, Biryu Yeon felt a surge of irritation.

'What exactly is common sense? Who was it that first established common sense?' There was no way to know. Biryu Yeon stood up. Everyone looked at him intently with confused eyes. Among them were glances begging him not to do anything absurd, pleas for him to endure just this once. Most of those earnest gazes belonged to the members of the Vermilion Bird Squad. However, such pleading looks were bound to be ineffective on Biryu Yeon, who had never backed down from his own claims.

"I'll teach you a new common sense today!" People who sensed something was amiss tried to stop him, but Biryu Yeon's figure was no longer there. Where had he disappeared to? His speed alone was unnervingly fast.

"Where on earth did this person disappear to?" Cheong Heun asked with a bewildered expression. To be unable to read the movements of a martial artist of his caliber… that was a disgrace.

"Don't try to find out!" Namgung Sang advised.

"It's more beneficial to not get involved and live without caring, senior brother!" Yu Un Geom Hyeon Un added. To Cheong Heun's eyes, these two were clearly not joking. But what was this awkwardness lingering in their gazes? 'How many more surprises do I have to endure from this man?' He felt inwardly displeased at constantly being surprised and being on the receiving end.

Where had Biryu Yeon gone? The members of the Vermilion Bird Squad absolutely did not want Namgung Sang and Cheong Heun to know. They instinctively sensed that if they found out, they would be burdened with some troublesome task at that very moment. Namgung Sang and Hyeon Un prayed with clasped hands that the incident would end somewhere beyond their sight.

"Rumble!" The sound of common sense collapsing once more resounded noisily in their minds. They bitterly resented the reality of having to face such tragedy again.

"Thump thump thump!" The earth-shattering roar, a wave of black horses sweeping across the land! The black, raven-hued flags, emblazoned with the fierce black horses, fluttered in the gale! The sharp, ink-colored spears that pierced the sky! The ink-colored armor that instilled a sense of awe in the beholder! The flags fluttered fiercely in the oncoming wind. Although they did not yet carry the scent of blood, the reason they were here was to imbue this bland wind with the aroma of blood.

'What is this now?' Wei Mu Sang, the second-in-command of the Iron-Hoofed Flying Horse Unit, looked at a young man standing in their path without bothering to hide the bewildered expression on his face. The young man, who appeared to be around twenty, was merely a young man to him, a veteran who had faced countless battles and crossed the threshold of death, nothing more and nothing less.

"Whoa, whoa!" Although he considered ignoring the young man waving his hand cheerfully and passing by, the galloping steeds came to an abrupt halt at the signal of Chilpung Mukh Heun Gu Cheon Hak, the captain of the Iron-Hoofed Flying Horse Unit. No one on either the black or white path was unaware of the reputation of the Iron-Hoofed Flying Horse Unit. Their colossal Qi attacks and charges, capable of devastating entire battlefields, were techniques close to cheating. To have a mere whelp block their path, how baffling must that be? Truly, one lives long enough to see everything. He was experiencing such bewildering things as he lived.

"Who are you?" Wei Cheon Sang, the second-in-command, asked instead of the captain, Gu Cheon Hak. This was usually his role.

"Ah, me?" The young man asked, pointing a finger at his chest. He spoke as if asking if they didn't even know that.

"Heh! What an audacious fellow. Who else would be here besides you?" Wei Cheon Sang said with a dry laugh.

"Do you want to know that badly?" The smile forming on the young man's lips deepened.

"Is there anything good to be gained from knowing?"

"There's no harm in it. You could enjoy the luxury of boasting to others decades later that you met a famous person whose name would be remembered for ages. Wouldn't that be an honor?"

"Hahahaha! Truly, you are an impudent brat who has mastered the height of self-importance! Do you even know that by blocking the path of the Iron-Hoofed Flying Horse Unit, you have already committed a capital offense?" 'Huh? Now that I think about it, why did they stop?' A normal captain would not have batted an eye at such an incident. Even if they didn't crush him, they could at least have leaped over him. Wei Cheon Sang glanced at Gu Cheon Hak's face. But he couldn't read his expression. Giving up on deciphering the captain's mood, Wei Cheon Sang glared at Biryu Yeon with his usual grim expression. "Before we kill you, let us know your name." Then, the young man spoke, enunciating each syllable clearly. "Bi (飛), Ryu (流), Yeon (連)!" It was a declaration that marked the beginning of the most bewildering legend in the history of the martial world.