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Chapter 11

Her arm was supported with a wooden splint and wrapped with white bandages. Though she’d never needed first aid out in the field, she recognized what it was. No. 25 had probably done it, but where was he?

“You’re awake,” a voice said from behind her.

“Wah!” It made her jump. “Why are you always sneaking around?!”

“Don’t you think it would be strange not to sneak around with what we’re doing?”

“... Maybe?” Now that she thought about it, he was right. Suddenly curious about where he’d gone, she looked down at what he was holding in his hand. “Did you skin the rabbits?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you do it here?” she asked.

Her question reminded Leonard once again of her greenness. “Animals and bugs are attracted to the smell of blood and innards. The smell will also make it easier for the other kids to find us here.”

“Oh.” Only then did she realize how stupid her question was. She turned red with embarrassment and buried her head into her knees. It took a long time for her face to return to normal.

Leonard paid her no mind. He skewered the neatly skinned rabbits onto branches he’d sharpened and placed them in a circle around the fire. They made a loud sizzling sound. This was his dinner.

No. 3’s stomach wailed as she watched. I’m hungry... Oh, I haven’t eaten in over a day.

She had been forced to leave anything that could weigh her down when she had hectically run away from No. 1. She wilted as she pictured someone from Group 1 eating up all the rations she’d left behind at the camp. It had only been a week since they’d entered the forest, but she never forgot the importance of food and water.

However, No. 25 hadn’t retaliated despite the fact that she was the one who had attacked, and he’d even bandaged her arm. She couldn’t possibly also ask for food when—

“Eat.” Leonard held out two well-cooked skewers.

He didn’t seem to care about her reservations, and she didn’t sense that he was trying to make her indebted to him.

To a girl who considered everyone who wasn’t her ally an enemy, such casual acts of kindness were unfamiliar.

To Leonard, however, all he was doing was preventing a child from starving.

“May I...?” she started.

“Yeah.”

No. 3 accepted the roasted rabbit. Her face turned red, but the redness might have been due to the light of the fire rather than embarrassment. She took a bite. The rabbit wasn’t very good compared to the food back at her home, but her empty stomach voraciously took it in. In the blink of an eye, the skewers had returned to being branches.

“You can eat more if you need,” Leonard said.

No. 3 devoured the meat without any more protests. She felt her deflated stomach fill. When her hunger was satiated, she noticed things she hadn’t before.

“Is this where you’re staying?” she asked.

“Yup.” Leonard took a swig of water from his canteen, then spat the water out to get rid of the smell of food and grease in his mouth. He petted the wolf at his feet and said, “However, it belonged to this guy before I found it.”

Woof! the wolf exclaimed, realizing that Leonard was referring to it.

No. 3 still had many things she wanted to ask, but then she realized she hadn’t said a single thing about herself.

No. 25 beat her in a fight, bandaged her arm, and fed her.

If he kept helping her like this, it wouldn’t sit right with her for multiple reasons.

“My group was ambushed by Group 1, and we were almost eliminated,” she blurted very suddenly, but Leonard wasn’t startled. He only nodded once, which, for some reason, made her relax. She continued, “We were doing reconnaissance and caught some of his scouts out in the wild, but before we could come up with a defense plan, No. 1 charged us with his entire group. We weren’t careful enough.”

As the group’s leader, she felt bitter about losing so easily, and her words were self-punishing. But Leonard didn’t quite think she did anything wrong.

All of these children are greenhorns who’ve never fought in teams, let alone in an actual battle. In that case, the one who takes the initiative and attacks first will always be at an advantage.

When two people got into a fistfight with no idea what they were doing, the one who had decided to attack first would have the upper hand. If the attacker could land even a single hit before their opponent, they would be in the lead.

If a group is ambushed by a group twice its size, well, no matter how great of a leader it has, it will always suffer huge losses. In that scenario, the best course of action for No. 3 is to take all the members of her group and get away as fast as possible.

The number of soldiers in an army was directly tied to their fighting power, but having more people came with much more responsibility. It took longer to travel, and the group needed more supplies. If Group 3 had retreated to somewhere far away as soon as they took out Group 1’s scouts, or even fanned out before meeting up at a different location, No. 1’s daring move would have been for naught.

Well, if she was able to pull that off in her first real battle without having studied military strategy, she’d go down in history.

If the trainees were knights properly trained in group fighting, they also could have created a trap or moved to somewhere geographically advantageous to create a line of defense. However, such things weren’t possible for teenagers who’d only done physical training and swordplay.

“Did No. 1 break your left arm?” Leonard asked.

“... Yes,” No. 3 admitted, looking down at the splint. “I fought him with No. 6 and No. 7, but he still overpowered us. That guy’s in a class of his own, even compared to No. 2.”

And yet the fire in her eyes never wavered. This fighting spirit of hers had allowed her to reach 3rd place in the training class despite being from a branch family. If she was the type to back down because someone was a little bit stronger than her, she never would have come so far.

She’s a fine martial artist. The thought made Leonard smile with contentment.

There had always been geniuses stronger than the Sword Emperor, and there had always been people who acquired new powers through some amazing stroke of luck. However, other than Heavenly Demon Dan Mok-Jin, there had never been anyone who had decisively defeated him.

No matter whom he fought, he always refused to give up. No matter how strong he became, he always strove for greatness, never letting himself settle. These were the principles he’d lived by for his whole life, and they were passed down from the only person he’d ever called his master.

In any case, Group 1 has made things a little precarious. If things continue like this, the two remaining groups won’t be able to do substantial damage to them and will end up being crushed.

Once upon a time, in his previous life, Yeon Mu-Hyuk had been the descendant of a great general who ruled over a whole nation. Even after the nation fell, the family passed down many books about not only martial arts but also battle tactics and governing philosophy from generation to generation. He had been taught to learn anything that could potentially be a tool and that any knowledge he acquired would eventually have a use.

This was true even now.

If Groups 2 and 4 had found out the news about Group 3, they would have made an alliance. Then, they’d be able to gain a bit of an advantage over Group 1, since Group 1 had lost a few troops when they had clashed with Group 3. At the very least, the groups would end up on even footing.

However, now that Group 1 had experienced and won a group battle, their morale would have skyrocketed. Groups 2 and 4 would never defeat them in a direct confrontation. If they wanted a chance to win, they would need to take advantage of the topography, create an ambush, and use battle formations and other strategies. As Leonard had thought earlier, when there was a fight between novices, the one who made the first move had the highest chance of victory.

The problem was that No. 1 would undeniably know this. Even among the direct descendants, No. 1 was at the top. With his instincts and intelligence, he would detect most traps.

But the more time passes, the more advantageous it will be for No. 1. He already obtained a lot of badges by plundering Group 3. Groups 2 and 4 have to overpower him somehow before it’s too late.

Once Groups 2 and 4 teamed up, there was only one thing they could do.

They would have to usurp No. 1, who was both his group’s greatest strength and greatest weakness. A group of the most seasoned fighters with No. 2 and No. 4 at their lead would have to break through the lines and lead a concentrated attack on No. 1.

Group 1 was built solely on one person’s charisma, so once No. 1 was eliminated, the group would fall apart.

Afterward, all three groups will be exhausted and vulnerable, and I should be able to take out all the stragglers by myself... but it won’t turn out that perfectly. One group will be more intact than the others, and they will clean out all the remaining trainees in the forest.

Even with his level of skill, it would be difficult to eliminate everyone when he didn’t have any cultivated qi. Sure, he could use fearmongering by killing or maiming some of them, but that’s not something he would do to kids. Plus, the instructors would definitely punish him.

With the cards that he was given, was there any way to turn the tide without breaking the rules?

The answer came to him in an instant.

“It’ll be a hassle, but it’s more preferable than losing to a bunch of children,” he muttered.

“Huh? Did you say something?” No. 3’s ears perked up at the sound of his voice.

Leonard looked directly into her eyes. “No. 3, do you want to get revenge on No. 1?”

“Of course! But—!” The words died in her throat. She knew she couldn’t defeat No. 1 with her current capabilities.

Leonard, knowing what she was thinking, nodded. “I’m not saying you should fight him one-on-one. I’m suggesting that we give No. 1 a taste of his own medicine and eliminate his group.”

“His group? How?”

Group 1 had the most manpower, fighting capacity, and resources. How could two people take them out? She looked at Leonard with distrust.

“It’s up to you whether to trust me or not,” he said calmly. “But if you accept, you’ll be part of Group 6 starting today.”

It wasn’t against the rules to switch to another group. Convincing others to join one’s side and accounting for deserters were part of battle tactics.

No. 3 closed her eyes but only for a moment. “So, should I call you Boss from now on?”

Her intuition had never once betrayed her in her life, and right now, it was pointing to this boy as the unwavering answer.

***

A few days passed.

“The march is going about as slow as I thought.” No. 1 watched irritably as the ranks carefully proceeded forward according to his orders.

Now that Group 1 had achieved a major victory, they were by far the strongest faction in the forest. Groups 2 and 4 would never be able to face them in a direct confrontation. Since the two groups also knew that, they would try their best to catch Group 1 off guard.

In order to prevent them from ambushing them, Group 1 had no other choice but to march forward.

“Even so, time is on our side. As long as we proceed as is, victory will be guaranteed,” No. 5 remarked.

“I know. That’s why I’m not rebuking them,” No. 1 said.

No. 5 was right. They couldn’t recklessly march into an environment that might end up being disadvantageous for them, so they decided to encroach on Groups 2 and 4’s territory little by little. Even though their map of the forest was imperfect, the reconnaissance team was constantly amending it. As long as the two groups stayed huddled at their base, they wouldn’t be able to get far before Group 1 caught them.

“Ah.”

The boredom finally left No. 1’s face, and a wicked smile took its place.

No. 5 noticed this and raised his sword high.

“Halt! Halt!” No. 5 cried, stopping the march and initiating a call-and-response.

“Halt!” At his order, the group of over a hundred trainees immediately braced themselves for battle.

The fact that they were so coordinated despite their lack of practice moving as a group was thanks to No. 1’s powerful charisma. As long as they obeyed him, they would win. Their unwavering trust gave them strength!

“And I do enjoy how they recognize their place and prostrate themselves,” No. 1 muttered to himself as his men curled into themselves like hedgehogs.

No. 1 took a step forward and looked into the shadowed forest, as if seeing someone inside.

“Why don’t you surrender to me?” he asked.

As his voice rang through the air, the forest grew silent, then immediately sounded with loud, overlapping rustling. It was the sound of over a hundred people charging through leaves, branches, and mud.

Two packs of people emerged, one from the right and one from the left. Needless to say, the packs represented Group 2 and Group 4.

“You caught us. You always present yourself as a lion, but your sense of smell is like a dog’s,” No. 2 taunted, looking as amused as always.

“Hmph! Those who stand above will always see what’s below. If you don’t know something as simple as that, you don’t even deserve to stand before me,” No. 1 retorted.

“Will you still believe that once your face is buried in the ground?”

“Stop putting on airs when you can’t even do that. It’s unseemly.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you considered putting on airs to be undignified,” No. 2 said sarcastically.

No. 1 didn’t waver. He grinned as he drew his sword. “I commend you for putting an end to this tedious wait. At last, it’s time to decide the winner. Come at me with everything you have!”

No. 2 raised her sword. “I don’t need you to tell me that. Charge!”

At her order, the trainees of Groups 2 and 4 ran in, kicking dust into the air. Group 1 met them in kind.

In the middle of the chaos, No. 1 fixed his eyes on No. 2 as she stepped toward him.

“No. 5, I’m putting you in command,” he ordered.

“Understood.”

With that, No. 1 took a few steps toward No. 2. It didn’t take long for the two leaders to be face-to-face.

“Your luck is as good as always,” he noted. “It’s impressive how you snuck through so many people so quickly.”

No. 2 hadn’t engaged a single person until she reached No. 1. She had leisurely stepped through the ranks as if taking a stroll, moving through everyone’s blind spots.

After all, she only had one enemy to face.

“Shall we begin?” she asked calmly.

“Certainly,” No. 1 said, raising his sword high. His already-powerful presence grew several times stronger, to the point that the trainees near them stopped fighting. If Leonard were present, he would have been impressed by how No. 1 was able to radiate such an aura without a drop of cultivated qi.

No. 2, however, was also a force to be contended with.

“Do you love showing off that much? Don’t you think you’re more like a peacock than a lion?” she taunted.

“It’s called dignity, you fool.”

No. 2 pointed her sword downward, which was the opposite of No. 1’s stance, where the sword was held above the head with the tip pointing back toward the sky. Her stance was mainly defensive, but it also allowed her to counterattack.[1]

Assuming the exact opposite stances, the two trainees took one step forward at a time, watching carefully for any possible advantage.

And then...

Thump!

No. 1 kicked off the ground and rushed in.

1. T/N: They’re using kendo stances. No. 1 is in jōdan-no-kamae and No. 2 is in gedan-no-kamae. ☜