You're Dead
Where?
Tang Pyeong was horrified.
He had completely lost track of his opponent's movements. How was this possible?
He was an elder of the Sichuan Tang Family—
Swoosh!
It was instinct rather than conscious thought.
The moment he sensed danger, Tang Pyeong threw his body aside. That primal reflex saved his life.
A streak of light grazed the spot where his head had been a split second before, piercing the boulder behind him. But...
Crack!
"Agh!"
Having lost his balance in his desperate evasion, Tang Pyeong could not block the follow-up attack.
The Tang Family Head's palm strike slammed squarely into his flank. Tang Pyeong flew backward, groaning in agony as his ribs shattered.
Yet, he was still an elder of the Tang Family.
Shwek!
Even as he hurtled through the air, he desperately unleashed hidden weapons, aiming for his opponent's vital points. His projectiles flew straight toward the Family Head's solar plexus and forehead.
"I got him!"
Tang Pyeong rejoiced for a fleeting moment. But...
"You are blind."
"Gasp!"
A voice drifted down from directly above his head, freezing the blood in his veins. And then...
"Huh?"
"What is that?"
The Tang Family members looked up at the sky, their eyes widening in sheer terror.
Countless hidden weapons swirled lazily around the Tang Family Head as he soared into the air.
The moment they saw it, they knew.
How could they not recognize it?
It was the pinnacle of throwing techniques, the very symbol of the Sichuan Tang Family.
Passed down only to blood descendants, never to outsiders.
A torrential downpour of countless hidden weapons, filling the heavens like falling petals.
A literal rain of death poured from the heavens.
"Aaargh!"
"Get out of the—urk!"
"Aaaagh!"
The deadly rain unleashed by the Family Head executed swift judgment upon those who had betrayed the clan.
Having wiped out over a dozen traitors with a single move, the Tang Family Head touched down on the ground.
"Ugh... Attack!" Tang Pyeong roared.
Yet, even at his command, the traitors hesitated, utterly cowed by the Family Head's divine display of power. Seeing this, Tang Pyeong shrieked:
"You fools! He just used Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky! He has exhausted a massive amount of his inner energy. Now is our only chance!"
His words snapped several of them back to reality.
"Charge!"
"Kill the Family Head!"
Realizing they had no future unless they killed the Family Head here and now, the traitors lunged at him from all directions.
The Tang Family Head looked coldly at the traitors aiming for his throat.
"Come."
Tang Jin, whom the Family Head had sent ahead, wanted nothing more than to rush to his sister's side. However...
Boom!
"It's a poison fog!"
"Put the Poison-Avoiding Beads in your mouths and break through!"
"We can't! The poison is stronger than we expected!"
"Damn it..."
The enemy's resistance was fiercer than anticipated, stalling their advance.
The foes avoided direct confrontation. Instead, they focused entirely on blocking the Tang Family's path by releasing poison fog and using hit-and-run tactics.
"Who on earth are they?" Tang Jin muttered, though he already had a suspicion.
The world was vast, but there was only one faction capable of fighting the Sichuan Tang Family on equal terms using poison.
"Is it the Poison Hand Sect?"
At Tang Jin's murmur, Han Cheong-un, who was standing beside him, replied, "To be precise, it's the Red Snake Squad, one of the combat units of the Poison Hand Sect."
"What?"
"They're often deployed for solo operations among the Poison Hand Sect's forces. Their leader is Han Bi-woo, known as the Blood Poison Snake. His martial arts realm is probably around the Peak Expert level."
"How do you know that?"
"Who knows? I just picked it up here and there."
"..."
How did that make any sense?
Just as Tang Jin was about to press further...
"That's not what's important right now," Han Cheong-un said.
"Hmm..."
"We won't make any progress at this rate. They are blatantly trying to buy time, and we can't afford to be tied down here."
"..."
He was right.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Tang Jin asked.
"The Tang Family is powerful, but your martial arts aren't suited for breaking through lines."
"And?"
"I'll take the lead."
Tang Jin considered this.
It was undeniably true. Tang Family martial arts might be specialized for mass slaughter or assassination, but they lacked the raw, brute-force momentum needed to pierce through an enemy's defense.
A spear, on the other hand, was a weapon designed specifically to pierce forward. In that case...
"Can I leave it to you?"
Han Cheong-un grinned at Tang Jin's question.
"Just trust me and follow my lead."
"...!"
A strange sense of déjà vu suddenly washed over Tang Jin.
Just trust me and follow my lead.
What was this? What had he just seen?
The sunlight backlit the figure, obscuring his face, but it was definitely...
"Ugh!"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just a sudden headache..."
Tang Jin shook his head.
Being surrounded by poison fog must have caused some strange hallucination. In any case...
"Very well. I'm counting on you."
Receiving Tang Jin's assent, Han Cheong-un nodded and dashed forward.
"Step back!"
As Han Cheong-un shouted, the Dark Rain Squad parted to the left and right. Seeing Han Cheong-un emerge from the gap, the enemies immediately detonated their poison bombs.
Pop! Bang!
A thick, purple poison fog billowed up.
It was a poison so potent that even the elite of the Sichuan Tang Family, who possessed natural resistance, recoiled in disgust. However...
That only matters if I breathe it in.
The tip of Han Cheong-un's spear began to trace a spiral.
Starting as a small spiral at the tip, it grew larger and larger until a miniature vortex enveloped the spear shaft. And then...
Thud!
Stomping his foot with immense force, Han Cheong-un thrust his spear forward, unleashing a tempest.
Azure Wind Vortex
Rumble!
The terrifying gale blew away the poison fog and swept back the Red Snake Squad members waiting behind it.
"Ugh... What kind of power is... Huh?"
A martial artist of the Red Snake Squad, squinting against the howling gale, suddenly felt a burning sensation in his torso.
Reflexively, he looked down.
"Wh-what...?"
It was his own body, which he saw every day, but he had never seen it like this. A massive hole had been bored straight through his chest.
"Cough..."
His body slowly collapsed to the ground.
The last thing he heard in his life was the rush of wind as someone leaped right over him.
"Anyone who stands in my way dies!" Han Cheong-un roared, tearing through the poison fog. At that moment, his spear vanished.
Or so it seemed to the members of the Red Snake Squad.
The spear tip that had vanished from their sight was already skewering their bodies.
Charging forward with the fury of a raging fire, Han Cheong-un's relentless onslaught shattered the Red Snake Squad's defensive line in an instant.
"At-attack!"
"Stop him!"
The second line of defense, finally snapping out of their shock, moved to block Han Cheong-un.
"Raise the shields!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
They raised their shields in unison.
The shields, taller than the men themselves, were reinforced with heavy iron plates. Even a master would find them difficult to pierce.
"Get ready. The moment he stops, we swarm him."
Their plan was to halt the enemy with the shields and then shower him with poisoned hidden weapons from all sides.
It was a highly efficient tactic, typical of the Unorthodox Faction. However...
Heh.
Han Cheong-un was more familiar with the combat methods of the Unorthodox Faction than anyone else.
The moment he saw the wall of shields, he channeled his energy into his spear.
Hummmmm.
Intense solar energy gathered at the tip of Han Cheong-un's spear, heating it to a glowing red. Then...
"Hah!"
The spearhead split into dozens of afterimages, hammering against the wall of shields.
Raging Blazing Waves
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
A din like a blacksmith's forge echoed through the air.
Han Cheong-un's spear struck the exact same spot repeatedly. The point of impact quickly glowed red-hot, and the shockwaves traveled straight to the shield-bearers.
"Urgh..."
"Aaaagh!"
Bones shattered, and internal organs ruptured.
The searing heat conducted through the metal shields literally cooked their hands. Before long...
"It's... it's breaking through!"
"Noooo!"
Crash!
Han Cheong-un's spear strike pierced right through the shield wall, obliterating the men behind it.
"That bastard...!"
"Get him! Kill him!"
Having watched him breach two defensive lines in the blink of an eye, enemies rushed at Han Cheong-un from all sides.
For a brief moment, Han Cheong-un wondered if he should respond.
But he smirked.
He ignored them and focused on the path ahead.
There was no need to waste his attention on such small fry. Because...
"How dare you!"
Silver flashes of light pierced straight through the enemies attempting to attack Han Cheong-un.
"Urk..."
"Damn it..."
At the same time, Tang Jin, who had caught up to Han Cheong-un's heels, pulled his silver threads to retrieve his flying daggers and shouted:
"Leave the surroundings to me! Just keep moving forward!"
"Right, will do."
He would do exactly that.
Just as he had always done.
"Here we go!"
Han Cheong-un charged forward like a living spear, while Tang Jin followed closely behind, clearing out enemies in all directions.
The two of them displayed such perfect coordination that it was hard to believe this was their first time fighting together, utterly overwhelming the enemy.
The Red Snake Squad fought desperately to stop them, but it was futile.
"They're falling like autumn leaves," one of the Dark Rain Squad members following behind remarked, and the others nodded in silent agreement.
Realizing that their defensive line was collapsing, the Red Snake Squad hurriedly reported the situation to their leader.
"Leader! The enemies are pursuing us too quickly!"
"What are you fools doing? Stop them properly!"
"Half of our squad is already dead! We are holding the line with our lives, but the gap is closing rapidly!"
"Damn it... Did those Tang traitors fail to hold back the Family Head?"
The leader of the Red Snake Squad ground his teeth.
Leaving the Tang traitors behind during their retreat was meant to buy time by pinning down the Tang Family Head.
But the rapidly closing distance meant they had failed to stop him.
Reaching that conclusion, the Red Snake Squad leader cursed.
"Useless bastards. Hak-so!"
"Yes, Leader."
"Take the Myriad Poisons Body and go yourself. I will handle this—"
Crash!
It happened then.
Before he could issue the new order, a man holding a spear burst into the clearing.
The moment the intruder appeared, he looked straight at the leader and spoke.
"It's been a while, Han Bi-woo."
"...?"
What? Did they know each other?
But Han Bi-woo had no recollection of such a person.
"Who are you?"
"Han Cheong-un."
"...You share my surname. Are we related somehow?"
"..."
Han Cheong-un paused.
Then, looking up at the sky, he began to mutter to himself.
"Thinking about it now just pisses me off."
"What did you say?"
Looking back forward, Han Cheong-un ground his teeth and took a slow step forward.
"I got misunderstood so much in the past because of that. People even suspected I was your son."
"...?"
"I'm not going to suffer that injustice again. Therefore..."
Han Cheong-un leveled his spear tip and said,
"You're dead."