Unexpected Death
Puuk!
“Gah!”
The blade plunged into Ban-go’s groin, piercing straight through his gut and bursting out above his shoulder.
Thud!
Another dull sound rang out, and blood sprayed from below. In a reflexive swing, Ban-go’s sword embedded itself in Cheol-u’s shoulder.
“Kuh...”
Ban-go flipped his eyes back and collapsed backward, dead on the spot.
Cheol-u yanked his sword free from Ban-go’s body and leaped back simultaneously. Baek Mu-yeong and Seobaek charged in, striking at the others.
The explanation was long, but the exchange had unfolded in the blink of an eye.
Thump! Thud!
“Krahk!”
“Uwaaak!”
The Jang Family experts who had moved with Ban-go sprayed blood as they fell. A few managed to evade Baek Mu-yeong and Seobaek’s attacks and flee, but they had lost all will to fight.
Baek Mu-yeong did not pursue. Tending to Cheol-u’s wound was the priority.
“Hey, you alright?!”
“I’m fine. Pursue them.”
“Enough. We’ve done plenty. Time to head back to my lord.”
“My lord will be disappointed.”
“He’d be more disappointed if you got yourself killed.”
“......”
Thud thud thud!
Woooaaah!
The Jecheon Army surged over the ridge like a tidal wave. Even a rough count showed over ten thousand troops—and most were cavalry, closing in fast.
Seobaek frowned at the sight.
“If we linger, we won’t even salvage our bones. Let’s hurry.”
Cheol-u stared toward the southwest where Yeon-hoo had vanished, breathing low. Baek Mu-yeong patted his shoulder.
“Don’t worry. He’ll come back with Jang Cheon’s head soon enough. Even if the pursuit fails, you know better than anyone he’ll return safe.”
As Baek Mu-yeong said, no one knew Yeon-hoo’s capabilities like Cheol-u did. Yet his feet wouldn’t move.
“Those bastards! Seize them!”
“Surround them!”
The Jecheon Army closed in from all sides.
“Brother, we might end up playing Zhao Zilong here. Let’s go back.”
Clang!
Cheol-u finally sheathed his sword and turned. Before leaving the battlefield, Baek Mu-yeong glanced southwest where Yeon-hoo had chased Jang Cheon.
The three shot north. The Jecheon Army swarmed from every direction, but catching them was impossible from the start.
Screee!
“Krahk!”
Even amid the chaos, Seobaek picked off enemies with arrows—targeting only those who looked high-ranking. It was the might of long-range attacks only he could pull off.
But the true horror unfolded right after Cheol-u and the others escaped the field. The Jecheon Army began mutilating the corpses of Ban-go and the Jang Family experts. It was Ban-go’s wretched end—mistaken for an enemy even in death by his own allies.
Only three escorts followed Jang Cheon. Two were already slowing from wounds.
Jang Cheon never looked back. Linking up with Jang Un’s main force would save him—he just had to run and keep running.
How much longer did they run? Faint hoofbeats echoed from ahead. The ground trembled faintly; it had to be a great army. Jang Cheon was certain it was Jang Un’s center.
“Fire the signal flare! Hurry!”
“Yes!”
One escort pulled a flare from his robes and launched it skyward.
Piiiu!
The flare streaked with flames and burst in the air.
Boom!
It wasn’t an ordinary signal. Only Jang Family blood could use it, and the flame’s shape conveyed different meanings. This one signaled dire emergency.
Keep chasing. A little further, and I’ll turn the tables and hunt you down.
Whoosh!
Jang Cheon was fast. He didn’t tire easily, thanks to his profound inner energy. But his escorts weren’t.
The wounded lagged fifty paces behind; the last one started gasping.
“Ugh!”
“Krahk!”
Agonized screams erupted from behind in succession. Jang Cheon didn’t look back, pouring every ounce of strength into flight.
A bit further, another scream. The last escort had fallen.
Crunch!
Jang Cheon ground his teeth. Though master and servant, these escorts had grown up with him like brothers, friends almost.
Sorry. I’ll repay this revenge a hundredfold, a thousandfold.
Boom!
Jang Cheon kicked off the ground, vaulting the ridge. After about a quarter-hour more, a group in blue robes appeared ahead, bounding like swallows through rugged terrain. About ten strong, their movements reeked of elite masters—Jang Family guards protecting his grandfather Jang Un.
Spotting them, Jang Cheon shouted.
“Over here!”
The blue-robes heard and veered toward him. Moments later, they landed before him in unison.
“We greet the family head!”
“Hahaha!”
Jang Cheon burst into laughter from sheer relief. He’d survived.
Eyes gleaming with murder, he turned back. Now, as vowed endlessly on the way, it was time to hunt Yeon-hoo.
What’s this?
Something was off. Too quiet—unnaturally so. No sign of Yeon-hoo. Just the dense forest swaying in wind and rain.
Jang Cheon narrowed his eyes.
Did his inner energy fall short of mine after all?
Then a middle-aged blue-robe asked, puzzled.
“Why have you come all the way here, family head? Did you yield the lord’s residence?”
A question that stabbed at wounds. Jang Cheon’s gaze turned icy.
“If the Jecheon Army had arrived on time, none of this would’ve happened! What were you doing—how did a mere ambush tie you up and waste time?!”
“We merely followed the elder’s orders.”
Polite tone, but displeasure clear. As Jang Un’s direct guards, even as escorts, they weren’t ones Jang Cheon could bully—despite being family head. He knew it, but shattered pride forced his aggression.
The middle-aged guard asked again.
“Then you escaped alone, family head?”
“I’ll explain at camp.”
Dismissing it, Jang Cheon gathered inner energy to scan the rear sharply. Still no Yeon-hoo.
By now, he should’ve shown...
“Let’s go now.”
“That young master’s chasing me. I’ll wait a bit more, kill him when he appears, then head back.”
“How many are pursuing?”
“Two.”
“......Two?”
The middle-aged guard—and the others—gaped in disbelief. It grated on Jang Cheon.
“Watch that look after crossing blades with him.”
Infuriating to hype Yeon-hoo himself—the man he’d tear apart a thousand times over.
“Then we’ll wait one incense stick. If he doesn’t show, we’ll escort you straight to the elder.”
Jang Cheon waited one incense stick with Jang Un’s guards. Yeon-hoo never appeared.
Instead, the three escorts he’d thought dead staggered in, bleeding.
“What happened?!”
“He could’ve killed us outright but only wounded and left.”
“......What? Then where’d he go?!”
“Judged he couldn’t catch us—vanished north.”
Listening, Jang Cheon felt inexplicable dread.
Not his style to give up like this...
“We’ve delayed too long. Time to go, family head.”
The guards urged. Jang Cheon, clutching more humiliation than relief, headed to Jang Un.
Soon, reaching the center led by Jang Un himself, what awaited wasn’t just the thunderbolt of his grandfather’s death—but a scrap of cloth.
If you want your grandfather's head back, come anytime.
Until you do, it'll hang nicely at the Iron Blood Family's main gate.
No signature, but Jang Cheon knew: Yeon-hoo’s doing.
He wailed. And sobbed through a full day without cease.
The sun rose over the Iron Blood Family skies, swept by a storm. Before the fog fully lifted, Northern Legion Commander Yun Hoe arrived with thirty thousand troops—to cheers.
But cheers faded. Yeon-hoo, chasing Jang Cheon, hadn’t returned.
Amid worry and unease, the Iron Blood Family pushed reorganization. Facing imminent Jecheon Army, fortifying defenses was key.
Commander Yun Hoe took charge, aided by Sama Song and other leaders.
Meanwhile, Cheol-u’s wound was milder than feared. Flesh deeply gashed by Ban-go’s sword, but no bone hit—recovery in ten days.
Baek Mu-yeong narrowed his eyes.
“Not like you, Cheol-u.”
“An opponent where this injury’s no surprise.”
Seriously?”
“......”
“Strong, but not that strong. I get rushing to finish quick and find my lord... but don’t fight like that again.”
Seobaek chimed in.
“Aigoo, you rushed way too much—not like you, brother. Thought your arm was gone!”
“Shut up and wrap properly.”
True. Killing Ban-go fast to chase Yeon-hoo, Cheol-u hadn’t waited for perfect opening like usual. Otherwise, not this bad.
Wrapping Cheol-u’s arm, Seobaek asked Baek Mu-yeong.
“Did he catch Jang Cheon?”
“He’d be back if so.”
“Then why the delay?”
“You know. Once he starts, he never returns empty-handed.”
“True, but their numbers... overwhelming...”
Then the door opened—Yun Hoe and Sama Song entered. Faces heavy, somber; Yeon-hoo still absent.
Baek Mu-yeong asked.
“Troop deployment done?”
“Deployed, but aiding Southern Defense means sending some out immediately.”
“My lord said: once Northern Legion arrives, focus defense—no rash moves. Best send lightness experts to scout Southern Defense first.”
“My lord said that?”
“Yes. Told me before chasing Jang Cheon.”
“Understood. Handle recon.”
“You three go.”
“Yes, brother.”
“Yep!”
Seobaek, Yuksoon, and Seo-wi-ryang dashed out.
But soon burst back in, shouting.
“My lord is returning!”