Chapter 103 - The Desperate Chase (2)
“Family Head!”
Jang Cheon plunged into the heart of the chaotic battlefield. Someone blocked his path—a middle-aged man whose face seemed familiar, though Jang Cheon couldn't place him. He was undoubtedly one of the Jecheon Army soldiers.
“Why are you here, Family Head?!”
“Where is Grandfather?!”
“He's leading the central army northward!”
“I must reach him at once. Focus on the battle here!”
Jang Cheon ignored the man and leaped forward. But the middle-aged warrior blocked him again, shouting,
“Did you hand the Iron Blood Family over to the enemy?!”
Jang Cheon's eyes twitched with irritation.
“Get out of my way!”
Thwack!
Jang Cheon's fist slammed into the man's chest. The warrior collapsed without even a groan. The surrounding Jecheon Army soldiers recoiled in shock, clearly recognizing Jang Cheon.
He shot them a glance before launching himself forward again.
That was when it happened.
Krunch!
“Gaaah!”
“Argh!”
“Wipe out every last mongrel from the Jang Family!”
Screams of agony erupted from the left side of Jang Cheon's path. The Jecheon Army was being pushed back, blocking his way.
Jang Cheon's brow furrowed like a sharpened blade. His irritation boiled over. He'd anticipated this level of chaos when entering the battlefield, but the obstruction ignited an instinctive rage.
“Family Head! Head right!”
Ban-go's shout followed from behind. Suppressing his fury, Jang Cheon veered right.
Dozens of arrows rained down on him—blind fire from the enemy.
But they were deflected mid-air by Ban-go and the others' swords before they could get close.
Whoosh!
This time, a ferocious burst of energy hurtled toward Jang Cheon's head. Twisting mid-leap, he swung his sword to smack it away.
Boom!
A massive cleaver blade ricocheted off his sword. Jang Cheon locked eyes with its owner—a hulking warrior on a warhorse, evoking the image of a tiger astride a demonic steed. It was Jang Pae, leader of the Iron Blood Family's Baekdojeon and a core expert of the Northern Legion.
Flames blazed in Jang Pae's glare.
“Seeing you here means you got thoroughly crushed by our lord! Hahaha!”
Whip! Thud!
Jang Pae leaped from his horse, landing on the ground. Ten or so warriors gripped identical massive cleavers behind him—Baek Mu Yeong's deputy, Hwang Chan, and the other elites of Baekdojeon. Covered head to toe in blood, they charged with eyes like hellfire, resembling asuras freshly escaped from the underworld.
“Jang Pae...”
Jang Cheon's face twisted in anguish—not from fear. Jang Pae shared his bloodline through distant ancestry. Jang Cheon had once poured every effort into recruiting him, even planning to appoint him Northern Legion Commander after achieving his grand ambitions. He'd truly admired the man.
But Jang Pae had remained loyal to Patriarch Yi Yeom and stood as Jang Cheon's enemy to this day.
“I'll kill you myself before I go.”
“Family Head! We can't waste time! Leave him to us and hurry to the elder!”
As Ban-go shouted, several Jang Family experts who'd accompanied Jang Cheon charged at Jang Pae and Baekdojeon.
That was when it happened.
“Family Head! That second young master is chasing us!”
Jang Cheon's head snapped back like lightning. Amid the blood and flesh-splattered battlefield, Yeon-hoo barreled toward him, carving a path of destruction that pierced Jang Cheon's pupils like daggers. Everywhere Yeon-hoo passed lay only blood and death.
Splat!
“Gah!”
“Gaaah!”
Even in the midst of the pursuit, Yeon-hoo mercilessly slaughtered Jecheon soldiers. Jang Cheon trembled with rage at the brutality.
“Family Head! We'll hold him off—go now!”
“Hurry and escape!”
Ban-go and the others shoved Jang Cheon onward.
He bit his lip until it bled.
'Survive this crisis, Yeon-hoo, and I'll make you taste hell.'
Grinding his teeth, Jang Cheon leaped away. Overwhelmed by peril and fury, he couldn't even spare a word for Ban-go and the rest.
“We stop him here! Fight to the death, all of you!”
Ban-go bellowed at his men before turning toward Yeon-hoo.
In that instant, his eyes widened.
Yeon-hoo was gone.
“Damn...”
Ban-go's head whipped toward Jang Cheon reflexively. But the chaos of the battlefield had already swallowed him.
“Chase the Family Head! Hurry!”
That was when it happened.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
“Guh!”
An arrow burst through the mouth of the man beside Ban-go.
“Watch out! The enemy is close!”
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Alerted, Ban-go raised his sword, scanning sharply. But all he saw were Jecheon soldiers fleeing the Northern Legion's assaults in panic.
Several Jecheon troops leaped into his view, blocking his sight. At the same instant, a chilling energy sliced toward his heart.
Ban-go's sword cleaved the air.
Splat!
“Gah!”
“Argh!”
The Jecheon soldiers who'd obscured his vision crumpled, spraying blood.
The surrounding Jecheon troops charged at Ban-go and his group.
“Enemy!”
“Kill them!”
“Damn...”
Ban-go's face flushed red with bewilderment. Spears and swords flew from all directions—feeble strikes, but he couldn't cut down allies. He dodged instead.
That was when it happened.
“Guh!”
A sharp groan erupted behind him. Turning, Ban-go saw a Jang Family expert's head lopped off. Another arrow pierced a close aide's heart.
Thud!
'Damn it...'
Ban-go finally realized: powerful foes lurked among the Jecheon Army, impossible to handle like this.
“We break out of the battlefield!”
He decided to pursue Jang Cheon again. But nothing went as planned. Jecheon soldiers, mistaking them for enemies, swarmed from every side, trapping them in place.
Ban-go poured internal energy into his shouts.
“Stand down! We're allies!”
“Stand down!”
“Shut up, you bastards! Do allies kill their own?!”
“Kill them!”
Cheol-u targeted Ban-go. But as a renowned expert from the north, Ban-go revealed no easy openings.
'You'll die here.'
Cheol-u didn't rush. Yeon-hoo had given him a standing order before chasing Jang Cheon: kill as many as possible of those who'd fled this far with him, no matter what.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
Seo-baek's arrow pierced another Jang Family expert.
Cheol-u wasn't alone. Baek Mu Yeong, Seo-baek, Yuksoon, and Seo-wi-ryang had stayed behind under the same orders. Only Song Yeong had gone with Yeon-hoo to pursue Jang Cheon.
Slash!
Baek Mu Yeong's spear severed a neck. Deep in enemy lines, he selectively slew the strongest-looking foes.
Yuksoon and Seo-wi-ryang did the same, targeting high-ranking officers by their armor. Over ten had already fallen to them, bleeding out.
In the process, Yuksoon and Seo-wi-ryang took wounds. Even masters couldn't dodge every blind blade in such melee.
Noticing late, Baek Mu Yeong issued orders.
“You two, find Baekdojeon's leader and relay to withdraw forces to the family manor immediately—and go with them!”
“We'll stay too!”
“I can't fight if I'm worried about you in that state. Listen.”
“...”
“Go!”
“Yes. See you at the family manor, brother!”
“Be careful, brother!”
Yuksoon and Seo-wi-ryang headed for Jang Pae.
Baek Mu Yeong glanced left. Though others couldn't see, he knew Cheol-u was there.
“Only tough ones left—stay sharp.”
“Understood.”
Cheol-u's voice drifted from the enemy ranks. Baek Mu Yeong wiped blood from his face, fixing on Ban-go's group. Ban-go was trying to break out.
'Dream on. You won't leave here alive.'
Krunch!
Kraka-boom!
“Gaaah!”
“Kwaaak!”
The Northern Legion's assaults grew ever more savage. With Jang Pae and Baekdojeon tearing through the enemy center, the tide rapidly turned in their favor.
The Jecheon vanguard they faced was just a fragment of the vanguard force. Jang Un had sent these ten thousand ahead to the Iron Blood Family, but Yeon-hoo's ambush scattered them. Now, some clashed disastrously with Jang Pae's elite Northern Legion.
Jang Pae surveyed the field. Victory leaned their way. But they had to withdraw before the scattered Jecheon reinforcements arrived.
“More enemies will swarm soon—we must break out now!”
Deputy Hwang Chan shouted.
Jang Pae nodded silently.
“Everyone, to the family manor.”
“Pardon? Who blocks the Jecheon advance? Shouldn't we hold the mountains and intercept until our main force arrives?!”
“The family manor is already retaken by our lord. Reinforcing its defense is best.”
“Is that true? The manor is really secured?”
“I saw Jang Cheon pass by moments ago. Him coming here means he couldn't hold it.”
That was when it happened.
Yuksoon and Seo-wi-ryang landed before Jang Pae like the wind.
“Battle Leader, orders to withdraw forces to the family manor immediately!”
“Is the manor retaken?”
“Of course. How else could we be here?”
“Is our lord safe?”
“Yes. He's pursuing Jang Cheon now!”
“As expected—everything flows as our lord wills. What a man. Heh heh heh!”
Dong-dong-dong!
As Jang Pae smiled in satisfaction, thunderous drums and cheers erupted from the east. Jecheon troops crested the ridge like a black tide, charging fiercely.
“Hwang Chan, sound the retreat horn. Everyone to the family manor!”
“Yes!”
Bwooo!
The Northern Legion elites swiftly evacuated the field. For Ban-go, blocked by mistaken Jecheon allies, it was a stroke of luck.
“Prepare, everyone. Once the chaos eases, we break out... Huh?!”
Issuing orders, Ban-go's eyes bulged as air hissed from his lungs. From a pile of corpses, a flash streaked toward his groin.