Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Section 8. There Exists Pain Worse Than Death (2)
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Hwang Hye-ryeong's quarters were on the outskirts of the Overlord Stronghold. Her personality favored quietude and shunned bustle, so she had chosen a spot as far from foot traffic as possible.
The room she stayed in was spartan. No ornate furniture, and scarcely any of the accessories a woman might typically own.
The only decoration on the wall was a single sword. Nothing else adorned the space, giving it a stark, desolate feel.
"Hoo!"
Hwang Hye-ryeong let out a sigh.
For some odd reason, her chest felt tight.
Her gaze drifted out the window toward Hwang Kyung-mun's residence.
"He's probably handling the meeting just fine."
It was a gathering of the stronghold leaders representing the Green Forest bandits. Regrettably, she lacked the standing to attend.
Knock knock!
At that moment, someone rapped urgently on her door.
"Miss, it's Il-gwang."
It was Muk Il-gwang. Without waiting for her reply, he flung the door open and barged inside.
"Miss, we need to get out of here now."
"What's going on?"
"No time to explain."
Blood droplets spattered his clothes and body as he spoke.
Hwang Hye-ryeong bit her lip. Instinct told her something was terribly wrong.
She snatched the sword from the wall and hurried after Muk Il-gwang.
It was the instant they stepped out the door.
"Il-gwang!"
Suddenly, dozens of warriors blocked their path.
Muk Il-gwang's eyes turned fierce. His already rugged features grew even more menacing, but the warriors barring his way didn't so much as flinch.
The man at the forefront of the warriors stepped forward. He was every bit as burly and intimidating as Muk Il-gwang.
"Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry? Il-gwang."
"Gwang-cheon! You dare!"
Killing intent flared in Muk Il-gwang's eyes.
The man blocking him was Yoo Gwang-cheon, leader of the Soaring Dragon Squad and once Muk Il-gwang's closest friend.
Blood dripped steadily from the sword in Yoo Gwang-cheon's hand—the mark of warriors from his own Soaring Dragon Squad he had cut down.
Just a short while ago, Yoo Gwang-cheon had ambushed and slain five of his subordinates.
They had all been close to Muk Il-gwang and had never warmed to Yoo Gwang-cheon.
"You think you'll get away with this scot-free? Gwang-cheon."
"The heavens of the Green Forest are about to change. Why should I hesitate?"
"The heavens changing...? You don't mean—"
"That's right! It's probably already happened by now."
Yoo Gwang-cheon glanced subtly toward Hwang Kyung-mun's residence.
Hwang Hye-ryeong's face drained of color.
"You've really gone and done it? I could understand the other stronghold leaders, but you of all people?"
The Soaring Dragon Squad was an organization Hwang Kyung-mun had painstakingly built for the future of the Green Forest.
No one knew better than Hwang Hye-ryeong the investment and effort poured into raising them.
She had believed that even if everyone else betrayed them, the Soaring Dragon Squad never would. They were the one group she trusted implicitly, no matter what. That made their betrayal hit her all the harder.
"The world is full of things that defy common sense. No need to try understanding it."
Yoo Gwang-cheon bared yellowed teeth in a smirk.
The Soaring Dragon Squad warriors around him nodded in agreement.
Hwang Hye-ryeong couldn't believe the scene before her. Despair surged amid the bitter sting of betrayal.
"Miss, not everyone in the Soaring Dragon Squad is with them."
Muk Il-gwang's firm voice steadied her wavering heart.
He spoke the truth.
Though Yoo Gwang-cheon was the squad leader, he hadn't fully seized control. He lacked the complete loyalty of the Soaring Dragon Squad. Many warriors followed Muk Il-gwang over him.
Knowing this, Yoo Gwang-cheon had struck first, ambushing and eliminating those most likely to rebel.
"Hoo!"
Hwang Hye-ryeong drew a deep breath in, then exhaled. Her eyes no longer wavered.
"Il-gwang!"
"Yes, Miss."
"We're going to the Repentance Cave."
"Not to the Chief Stronghold Leader?"
"Our forces alone won't make much difference. Freeing my brother would help far more."
"Understood."
Muk Il-gwang nodded vigorously. Yoo Gwang-cheon sneered at him.
"It won't make a difference."
"What?"
"You think we shackled him with the Golden Horse Shackles for nothing? It was all for a moment like this. He's probably coughing up blood and dying as we speak. Heh heh!"
"Heh heh!"
"Even the Fist Demon can't do a thing once his limbs are bound and poison takes hold."
The Soaring Dragon Squad warriors chimed in one by one.
But their taunts didn't shake Muk Il-gwang's gaze.
'Big brother won't go down that easily. They know nothing about him.'
Thud!
Muk Il-gwang drew his twin axes.
'The longer we drag this out, the worse it gets for us. Strike first, victory is certain.'
His resolve hardened, and hesitation vanished.
Shing!
Muk Il-gwang unleashed the Blood Heaven Axe Technique, charging at Yoo Gwang-cheon.
A powerful axe qi hurtled toward him.
"Urk!"
Yoo Gwang-cheon panicked and swung his sword.
Boom!
A thunderous crash rocked Yoo Gwang-cheon's body.
Their skills were evenly matched. But one wielded massive axes, the other a sword.
Inevitably, the sword yielded to the axes' weight.
"You dare!"
"Kill him!"
Soaring Dragon Squad warriors rushed to aid Yoo Gwang-cheon, while a few moved to seize Hwang Hye-ryeong.
No one knew better than the Soaring Dragon Squad just how formidable Muk Il-gwang was.
Had he stayed till the end, Yoo Gwang-cheon never would have become leader. Muk Il-gwang's martial prowess was unmatched, and he had many followers.
'I have to kill him. Only then can I fully command the Soaring Dragon Squad.'
Yoo Gwang-cheon gritted his teeth and attacked.
As they clashed with full force, Hwang Hye-ryeong unleashed her own martial arts to the utmost. But her opponents were the Soaring Dragon Squad.
Elite warriors of unmatched caliber among the Green Forest bandits. Breaking through to reach the cave seemed hopeless.
'Brother.'
Dam Ho opened his eyes.
Through the iron bars, he saw the familiar face of the jailer.
On the tray in the jailer's hands sat chipped utensils and a spoon.
"Eat."
The jailer gruffly shoved the tray through the bars.
Since being imprisoned in the Repentance Cave, Dam Ho received one serving of cold porridge daily. With only once a day, he never skipped it.
The jailer assumed he'd do the same this time. But Dam Ho just stared at the tray, making no move to eat.
When Dam Ho didn't touch the food, the jailer barked.
"What's the holdup? Eat already. Then I can take the tray."
"Has it started?"
"What?"
The jailer's eyes bulged.
Dam Ho rose, tray in hand. The jailer stumbled back.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
He was so startled he stammered.
Dam Ho extended the porridge bowl toward him.
"Try it."
"Are you mad? Why would I eat that? You eat it and quit fooling around."
"No poison in it?"
"P-poison?"
The jailer stuttered in shock. Dam Ho fixed him with a piercing stare.
The look said he already knew everything. The jailer shuddered.
The being beyond the bars was the Fist Demon.
A beastly monster of immense power and savagery, as his moniker suggested.
The number of warriors who died by his hand was beyond counting. If he willed it, a mere bandit like the jailer was a candle in the wind.
But then the jailer spotted the Golden Horse Shackles binding Dam Ho's limbs. And the iron bars between them.
The bars were forged from famed darksteel, unyielding even to skilled experts.
On second thought, the imprisoned Dam Ho had no way to harm him.
The jailer laughed.
"You noticed the poison, clever. But trapped in there, you're powerless. Should've just drunk it and died easy. Heh heh!"
"Jo Yun-san put you up to this?"
"Heh heh! So what if he did?"
The jailer snickered and struck the Repentance Cave wall. Dozens of warriors waiting outside on the ledge rushed in.
All exuded murderous auras—they were warriors dispatched from the Black Water Stronghold and White Deer Stronghold.
They eyed Dam Ho behind the bars, then the jailer.
"He's still alive?"
"He sniffed out the poison in the porridge."
"Is that so? Tsk! Sharp senses wasted. Now he'll die in agony."
The tongue-clicking man was Jwa Sin-chung, Jo Yun-san's confidant.
Jo Yun-san had tasked him with poisoning Dam Ho.
He'd bribed the cave guards and supplied Blood Tears Intestine-Rending Acid, a deadly poison.
Once ingested, it shredded the entrails, brought bloody tears from the eyes, and ensured a gruesome death. No antidote existed.
Jwa Sin-chung addressed Dam Ho.
"You'd best drink the poison yourself now. Unless you want a more painful end."
"How exactly? I'm in here."
"You think those bars protect you?"
Jwa Sin-chung raised his hand. About a dozen of his accompanying warriors drew silver cylinders from their bosoms. Each child-arm-thick tube had a dozen small holes.
The cramped cave allowed only one narrow exit; everywhere else was sealed. No room to dodge once projectiles launched.
The warriors aimed the cylinders' holes at Dam Ho.
"Tang Clan golden-class hidden weapon: Soul-Seizing Death Needles. One hit, and your bones and flesh melt to a puddle of blood. Heh heh!"
The Soul-Seizing Death Needles were finer than hairs. Fired from the tube, they were invisible and nearly impossible to block.
Jwa Sin-chung's smile deepened.
Dam Ho's eyes darkened endlessly.
He had seen identical devices before.
On the Yangtze's Demon Horse Riverboat heading to Ak-yang.
The cargo from the escort agency matched these exactly. They claimed it was Tang Clan goods.
'Did Tang Clan items flow here?'
Dam Ho didn't know the Soul-Seizing Death Needles' power. But as golden-class, they were undoubtedly lethal.
One trigger loosed a dozen needles. With over a dozen cylinders, that meant over a hundred needles at once.
In the sealed cave, nowhere to flee.
Jwa Sin-chung mocked him.
"Better the poison in the porridge than the Soul-Seizing Death Needles. Which will it be?"
"Blood Tears Intestine-Rending Acid..."
"Good choice. At least..."
"I'll shove it down your throat. See if you can laugh then."
Jwa Sin-chung felt chills at the voice devoid of any emotion.
He shouted without thinking.
"Fire! Turn him into a pincushion!"
Shooo!
The Soul-Seizing Death Needles launched. Over a hundred needles rained down like arrows.
Tzzzzz!
In that instant, Dam Ho's form blurred, and a sound like a swarm of bees beating wings echoed.
Shield, the ultimate defensive technique, activated.