Chapter 33
“Close Heaven’s Gate and open Demon Gate! What are you doing?! Moon Fortress! Hold your position! Are you planning to abandon your teammate?!”
“S-Sorry!”
“Third Wolf! Too slow! Too slow! Ah! They’re dead! Dead! Because Third Wolf was late, Ghost Horn and Moon Fortress are dead! Third Wolf killed his own allies!”
“No! I’m coming!”
The day after we brought back the wild boar and held a feast, the training at our stronghold changed.
Normally, after running and physical training, everyone would move on to their own personal practice.
Today, however, everyone was sweating together while practicing a formation.
That was because I had introduced formation training.
The formation we were using was called the Remnant Moon Killing Formation.
It was a simple formation we had already learned in Ammajeong.
“Ghost Horn! You’re late too! Why are you just sitting there?! Are you planning to shoot only after everyone escapes?! What’s wrong with you?!”
“No! Shooting now!”
“Too late! You made me move again! I told you already! Once Seven Killings has to move, half the formation has already collapsed! Take a short break, then we start again!”
“Yes!”
“Sorry!”
It was a simple formation, and we had practiced it for half a year before.
Yet my group members still could not perform it smoothly.
There were several reasons.
First, unlike the earlier training where everyone used the same weapon, they were now using their actual weapons.
Second, I had deliberately made the application more complicated.
I had added what I saw in Amwolmagwan.
Conveniently, our group also had exactly six people including me.
And we had Myeonghwa, an archer.
The posture she used while shooting had reminded me of the archer clay soldier, so I adapted the formation used by those clay soldiers.
If the coming test was group-based, a team battle was inevitable.
And the best way to synchronize everyone was a formation.
A formation was not simply several people beating down one enemy.
It was not a street brawl either.
When properly combined, it increased the number of possible movements and allowed everyone’s internal energy to complement one another.
Furthermore, if you could not read the movements and martial level of your teammates, the formation’s principles collapsed.
In other words, formation training improved observation, cooperation, and judgment all at once.
“Everyone, catch your breath while listening. First, Jintae and Jinsu.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“You two are Heaven’s Gate and Demon Gate. Those positions are the first barrier and defensive line of the formation. You must move differently but together. You must open without being broken through. Understand?”
“We need to block more firmly and let people through only at the right moment!”
“That’s how I understood it too!”
“Correct. Right now, you’re failing to distinguish between the two roles. No, each of you understands the distinction differently. Synchronize better.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
The sword and saber clay soldiers had occupied Heaven’s Gate and Demon Gate.
So I assigned those positions to Jintae and Jinsu.
Their weapons also matched.
And because the movements were supposed to resemble one another, the twins were ideal.
Their skill was still lacking, but their teamwork had always been excellent.
They were gradually improving.
“Next, Cheonho and Na-gak.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“We’re listening.”
“Moon Fortress and Third Wolf must switch between offense and defense more freely than any other position. You two still seem confused about that. Am I wrong?”
“The transition... isn’t easy.”
“I’m still not sure exactly when I should switch.”
“That’s something you learn through instinct. There is no fixed timing. Focus more closely on your teammates’ movements. Then you’ll start seeing it.”
“We’ll remember.”
I assigned the spear and fist positions to Ma Cheonho and Na-gak.
With their strong bodies and powerful offense, their role was to shift constantly between attack and defense while dealing direct damage.
Both were individually strong.
What they needed now was to match their pace to each other and to everyone else.
“Lastly, Ghost Horn. Myeonghwa.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“You need to watch the entire battlefield and strike with a shot no one expects. You also have to protect the others. That’s why they protect you. Do you understand?”
“You mean I have to judge and act faster than I do now. Otherwise, my allies get hurt or waste their movements.”
“Good. Faster. More accurately. But if you miss your chance, immediately change position. The core principle of this modified Remnant Moon Killing Formation is that everyone moves around you.”
I gave Myeonghwa Ghost Horn, the most central position.
Her archery matched the archer clay soldier perfectly.
She also possessed the excellent Flying Heaven Traverse movement art.
Ghost Horn was a position that lost control the moment the enemy occupied it.
With Myeonghwa’s mobility, it would not be easy for anyone to take that position from her.
I took Seven Killings, the position that filled gaps and could also act independently.
Black Thunder Divine Steps allowed me to move quickly and attack from behind.
It suited me perfectly.
“All right. Everyone rested enough. We go again. Come on. Why are you recovering so slowly? My grandmother would recover faster than you! Get up!”
“...?”
“...?”
My group members gave me strange looks.
Ah.
If she was my grandmother, then that would make her the Heavenly Demon’s mother.
Maybe there was nothing shameful about recovering slower than someone like that.
Religion really was complicated.
“...That was a slip of the tongue. Anyway, ready!”
Now that I had become the group leader and was personally training others, some of my old habits naturally returned.
I had been a fairly strict team leader during training.
That was how it had to be.
If you were not strict during training, there might not be another chance later.
Especially when the exercise involved teamwork.
That was true for soldiers.
It was true for martial artists too.
That was why I became much harsher and louder during group training.
“Come on! Again! Good! That’s it! Hey! Stay focused!”
For the next several days, my throat barely got any rest.
This was the first time these people had seriously synchronized with one another.
Of course it would not go smoothly.
Even the Black Wolf looked bored.
Its tail did not wag at all.
Instead, it occasionally sighed and looked at us as if we were pathetic.
That was probably because our formation was still far from what it should have been.
