Chapter 33: Mount Hua's San Dojeon and Baek Sang-ah (2)
"……!"
"……!!"
Perhaps no one had expected Ma Jinseong to be subdued in just a second. Not only those around, but even I widened my eyes in surprise.
“Y-You damn wench!”
But the shock didn’t seem too deep. Ma Jinseong twisted his body and managed to land using a breakfall technique.
“I’ll kill you!”
Uuuuuung!
Humiliated, Ma Jinseong’s sword began to resonate with qi.
‘Qi-infused Sword!’
The bare minimum standard required to be called a ‘master’ in the world.
Ma Jinseong had surpassed that threshold.
‘He must be really pissed off.’
Qi-infused Sword was the stage before Stagnant Qi, the stage of materializing one’s qi. A swing at this stage could cleave through stone.
Among all the trainees, aside from me, none had reached the level of a Qi-infused Sword.
However—
“I’m warning you.”
Baek Sang-ah stood her ground in front of that sword, without even a hint of flinching.
“You’d better put that sword away. Unless you want to get seriously hurt.”
“You little runt, dare to look down on me?!”
Just as the furious Ma Jinseong was about to strike at Baek Sang-ah—
“That’s enough.”
Several instructors appeared out of nowhere and stepped in front of Ma Jinseong.
“You’re getting carried away, Ma Jinseong. We let that little skirmish slide, but if you go further, you’ll be crossing the line.”
“Kh, tsk!”
Even Ma Jinseong, one of the most notorious figures in the cult, couldn’t brazenly defy the instructors within the Thousand-Day Pass.
“No matter how much our cult worships strength, we are still a society ruled by law. That should be clear enough, don’t you think?”
The instructors’ voices were stern.
After all, one of the founders of those very laws was the progenitor of the Ma Clan—Ma Jinseong’s own ancestor.
They were essentially asking: ‘Are you planning to disgrace your forefather’s name right now?’
“…Understood.”
Ma Jinseong trembled all over but finally restrained his fury and sheathed his sword.
Just like that—
Baek Sang-ah, who had subdued Ma Jinseong in just one second, made her presence clearly known among the trainees.
However, there was a bit of an issue.
“A-Are you alright where you got hit?”
“……”
I couldn’t tell whether she was mocking him or genuinely worried.
No—more importantly…
‘That stance just now… I feel like I’ve seen it before?’
The stance she took to deflect Ma Jinseong’s thrust—
You might think it’s absurd to recognize something from just a stance, but martial arts weren’t all the same.
I shook my head slightly.
‘No, it can’t be. That technique requires a second sword.’
If—
If by some absurd chance my guess was right…
Then something that could overturn the entire cult was about to unfold.
***
“Deploy the Diagonal Line Formation!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“N-Next, Ghost-Scattering Formation! In full formation!”
Those stationed at the end of the Diagonal Line Formation slowly began to shift into a valley-like formation.
Their movements were relatively orderly.
There was little to criticize in the trainees' execution.
However—
“A-And… F-Finally, the Doom-Wielding Formation!”
The squad leader, who should be giving commands swiftly, was still stammering and fumbling through it.
It had been two weeks since the trainees began learning the Black Star Sword Formation in earnest.
While learning the basic form hadn’t caused much trouble, issues began cropping up as they moved into the application phase.
“Grrgh!”
Though dissatisfaction was clear on the trainees’ faces, they still followed Baek Sang-ah’s orders without protest.
After all, they had seen what happened to Ma Jinseong when he tried to defy her on the first day.
“Lastly, the Battering Ram Formation!”
The Battering Ram Formation was virtually the core assault pattern in the Black Star Sword Formation. Three carefully selected trainees formed a Tri-Talent Formation and charged the enemy.
As I charged at an imaginary enemy, two others wielding a spear and an axe followed behind me.
“Stab!”
“Yes, Young Master!”
The three of us thrust our weapons at the straw dummies arranged in front.
Despite being called a Sword Formation, not everyone in the unit had to wield a sword.
This wasn’t a high-level combined formation that required ultra-precise coordination down to every single step.
“G-Good work! That’s all for today!”
As our Black Star Sword Formation training wrapped up, Baek Sang-ah sighed in relief and declared the end of the session.
I opened my canteen and took a sip, thinking to myself.
‘Her judgment itself isn’t wrong. But the timing of her commands is consistently one beat late.’
Was it a matter of talent?
No, I didn’t think so.
I tilted my head in thought, and soon I found the answer.
‘She doesn’t seem fully accustomed to it yet.’
Tactical formations were about concealing your own weaknesses and exploiting your opponent’s.
There was nothing wrong with the deployment itself.
But when it came to striking at the opponent’s weak points, Baek Sang-ah’s decisions were consistently delayed.
‘Almost as if she’s hesitating on purpose.’
If her clumsiness was genuine, fine. But hesitating even in a situation where the path was obvious? That seemed intentional.
I scratched my cheek lightly.
‘I think I get what she’s trying to do.’
Distrust was growing.
For now, we were just sparring against straw dummies, but if that distrust continued to build, it might cause unexpected problems during a real battle.
In other words—elimination.
It was at that moment.
“Hey.”
“Ma Jinseong?”
Until now, Ma Jinseong had remained quiet—but now, he approached me.
“What are you going to do?”
The intent behind the question was blatant, but I deliberately answered with feigned ignorance, concealing my thoughts.
“What are you talking about?”
“What do you mean, what? Are we just going to get dragged around by that idiot and get eliminated together?!”
It seemed he had held it in well for the past two weeks, but now he couldn’t take it anymore.
“You mean the guy who got knocked out in one strike by that idiot?”
At my mocking tone, bloodshot veins rose in Ma Jinseong’s eyes like a ghost’s.
“Tch! That’s not the issue here! You know what I’m talking about! Her pathetic commanding!”
If even this brat was acting like this, then it was a clear sign our entire squad was in danger.
“So, what exactly do you want me to do?”
Only then did Ma Jinseong’s expression turn more serious, as if he now thought we could have a proper conversation.
“When we go into actual combat, you give the orders. If we follow that woman’s lead, we’ll be humiliated for sure.”
Whoa?
That’s pretty direct.
But more than that—you, a member of the Ma Clan, are willing to follow my orders?
Really?
“To be honest, following your orders would be humiliating. But in terms of rank, there’s no one more suited than you. The others think the same. If it’s you giving the commands, they’ll all follow.”
Of course they would—if I took the lead, they’d fall in line.
Still, I didn’t expect Ma Jinseong, who brimmed with pride in his Ma Clan heritage, to bow his head first.
But my response was already decided.
“No.”
“W-Why not?!”
“First of all, the instructors aren’t blind.”
In this test, squad members are required to obey the squad leader unconditionally. You can’t replace the squad leader either.
Ma Jinseong clenched his teeth and countered.
“There’s also the position of vice-squad leader.”
“The vice-leader is merely someone entrusted with limited authority by the squad leader.”
Whether the vice-leader was simply fulfilling their duties or turning the squad leader into a mere puppet would be obvious to the instructors at a glance.
And the moment they saw through it, the instructors would no doubt say:
—Hahaha, what a bunch of disorganized fools.
And then eliminate the entire squad.
“Ma Jinseong, here’s a bit of advice.”
“Advice?”
“This situation where you’re losing your mind right now—that is the real test of the Thousand-Day Pass.”
“W-What are you talking about?”
“Isn’t it strange? They created a system where we can’t replace the squad leader, yet that same squad leader suffers no consequences?”
In this group examination, where the bottom three squads are automatically eliminated, it’s only the thirty members—the squad members—who get disqualified.
Squad leaders receive no penalties and simply return to their original cohorts.
Ma Jinseong wasn’t dumb enough not to understand what that meant.
“Don’t tell me…”
“That’s right—they’re intentionally provoking mutiny.”
It was a kind of variable.
No matter how fairly the squads were divided, there would inevitably be differences in the capabilities of squad leaders and members. And those differences would turn into insurmountable gaps.
But what if you added a non-skill-based variable to the mix?
‘Depending on how they handle it, the skill gap could be overcome.’
Like Ma Jinseong here—if he acted out like a mad dog and rebelled, he’d be eliminated.
But if someone endured and trusted the squad leader to the end, or persuaded them to change for the better, then there was a chance of passing.
“I…”
Ma Jinseong was about to say something when—
“Shut the hell up!”
Clang!
A loud crash rang out as something metallic hit the floor, followed by a shout.
Judging by the direction, it wasn’t from our squad.
It seemed to have come from another group training nearby.
Ma Jinseong and I exchanged glances.
Without a word, we silently agreed through our eyes and headed toward the source of the commotion.
“I can’t trust your judgment at all!”
There, a trainee was shouting at his squad leader while pointing a finger at him.
“Why did you use the Battering Ram Formation instead of the Heat Dispersal Formation? Were you trying to send your squad into a death trap?!”
Apparently, the trainee’s complaint had some merit—several other squad members nodded in agreement.
“I told you, the squad leader’s orders are absolute.”
The squad leader, a towering man, responded coldly.
“If you’d followed my command precisely, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
My eyes widened when I recognized who the squad leader was.
‘That’s… San Dojeon?’
I hadn’t had the chance to see him since the entrance ceremony, and now I was seeing him again like this?
Unfortunately, San Dojeon’s current situation didn’t seem favorable.
“You can just return to your cohort without a care, but not us! We have to survive and climb higher!”
“That’s right! Even if you’re our senior, we doubt you have any strategic sense!”
“If you have any conscience, you’ll step down as squad leader!”
San Dojeon’s expression didn’t change.
But that was only on the surface.
‘He must be hurting inside.’
I looked at him with a trace of pity.
Father of the Wind Demon Unit.
That was another name for Bloodless Thunderstorm, San Dojeon.
Even though the Wind Demon Unit was officially part of the Thirty-Four Demon Squads, their mission was to patrol and guard the outer territories of the cult.
Naturally, they were the most looked-down-upon among the Demon Squads.
But San Dojeon carried himself with unmatched dignity as their commander, and his pride became the backbone that restored the unit’s self-worth.
Even on the day I died in my past life, the Wind Demon Unit threw away their lives without hesitation under San Dojeon’s command.
‘At this point in time, San Dojeon probably hasn’t fully developed his tactical judgment as a commander yet. No—if my guess is right, he made that misjudgment on purpose.’
And if that was true, then his response would be predictable.
“I won’t say it twice.”
San Dojeon stood in front of them, exuding killing intent.
“Follow orders. Or else…”
“Ha! Or else what?”
“I’ll subdue you by force for disobeying orders.”
“Subdue? Go ahead and try!”
The trainee grabbed the sword he had thrown on the ground and shouted fiercely.
I found myself quietly impressed by his attitude.
‘Wow, even after seeing that massive body, he’s not backing down.’
He had guts.
Though whether that came from actual skill or just a puppy’s bravado remained to be seen.
Well, judging by my instincts, it was overwhelmingly the latter.
‘The Black Star Sword Formation is a basic tactical formation used by small groups. As long as there are at least seven members, the rest don’t matter much.’
In other words, even if the squad leader kicked out four people, it wouldn't be an issue.
‘Now then—how will San Dojeon handle this?’