Chapter 155
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Chapter 31: Striding Forward on the Earth (5)
The flower pollen coalesces the poison powder.
Four Thousand Four deployed an utterly ingenious detoxification method that no one could have imagined, doing so with complete naturalness.
He scattered the flower pollen and waited.
To Vanguard and Hanbi's eyes, nothing had changed at all.
The flower pollen bloomed hazily into the air before fluttering down. Nothing else happened.
After scattering the pollen, Four Thousand Four simply waited in silence.
At first, they thought he was waiting for the pollen to settle, but that wasn't it. Even when the pollen was no longer visible, he just kept watching without moving an inch.
"It's good."
Four Thousand Four suddenly spoke, then stepped forward without waiting for a reply.
'It's good? What's good?'
Vanguard and Hanbi shared the exact same thought at the same moment.
To their eyes, the poison powder was invisible. They couldn't distinguish where the toxic zone began or ended. Nor could they see any detoxified areas. To them, it was just empty space.
Thud! Thud!
Four Thousand Four walked straight into the Biyeolwon filled with poison powder.
Vanguard and Hanbi cautiously followed behind him.
Unlike attacks, poison powder didn't have any visible form.
Even if the body was already poisoned, one might not even realize it.
Though Four Thousand Four said it was fine, there was still fear of poisoning. So they held their breath as much as possible, only breathing shallowly and deeply when absolutely necessary.
Four Thousand Four halted. He scooped up a handful of flower pollen and flung it into the air.
Once again, nothing was visible to Vanguard and Hanbi's eyes.
The air hadn't changed color from the poison, nor were the surrounding grasses withered and dead. And there was no special change indicating detoxification either.
Only Four Thousand Four made that judgment.
As if the poison existed because he said it did, and it was detoxified because he declared it so.
Vanguard and Hanbi waited calmly.
After the freshly scattered pollen coalesced the poison powder and it settled to the ground, with the toxicity fully dissipated, they needed to wait at least an hour or so. Just as they had before.
"Did this just pop into your head too?"
Hanbi asked.
Four Thousand Four nodded in response.
"You're a really curious guy. What the hell were you doing before... Why did you of all people end up tangled with us...? What kind of life did you live, what did you learn to make stuff like this come to mind?"
"Cut it out."
Vanguard intervened.
"I'm not scolding you, I'm just curious. Four Thousand Four, everything looks the same to us—what exactly are you seeing?"
"I'm curious about that too. What changes to indicate it's detoxified?"
"It's the sensation."
Four Thousand Four said something unexpected.
"I just extend my hand like this. If the skin doesn't sting, it's detoxified. If it still stings, it hasn't been yet. That's all—no visual cues."
As he spoke, Four Thousand Four extended his hand and swept it through the air.
Hanbi absentmindedly mimicked his action, stretching his hand out and swiping the air just like Four Thousand Four. In that instant,
"Ugh!"
Hanbi cried out and yanked his hand back.
A red spot had appeared on the back of Hanbi's hand. Clear, glistening blisters had formed too.
It had only been a brief moment, but the poison had touched his skin.
"Y-You do this... to check?"
Hanbi and Vanguard stared at Four Thousand Four's hand.
Ah! His hand was a mess. Four Thousand Four's hand was bright red, like it had been dipped in boiling water and pulled out. They'd been focused on the poison powder and hadn't noticed...
Now they saw him using his hand. He kept extending it into the air to test.
"It's good."
Only then did Vanguard and Hanbi finally understand the meaning of "it's good."
The three returned to the cave at the source of the poison powder—the cavern where the White Frost Demon had burned and the Biyeolwon Lord had lost his life.
The iron gate that had sealed the cave was twisted from the flames. Some parts had completely melted, while others showed no damage at all. Around it lay Biyeolwon martial artists who hadn't escaped in time and had met tragic ends.
Four Thousand Four stepped into the cave without hesitation. No—he started to, then stopped abruptly.
"What's wrong?"
Vanguard peeked inside and asked.
"Hold on. Let me rest a bit."
Four Thousand Four plopped down at the cave entrance.
Another thought had just come to him.
A map floated into his mind.
Mountains everywhere, winding paths, traps dug here and there.
And the Biyeolwon was somewhere within it.
On the map Four Thousand Four recalled, the Biyeolwon was positioned quite deep inside, near the very center.
Not as a backyard of the Heavenly Annihilation Division, but as the heart of some intricate mechanism.
The layout was incomparably grand compared to something like the Twenty-Four Ripening Sword Formation. The Biyeolwon looked like a tiny nail clipping. In contrast, the mechanisms and traps were suffocatingly numerous.
Four Thousand Four sat at the cave entrance, observing the surrounding terrain.
It matched. Exactly as depicted on the map.
"Mm!"
Four Thousand Four finally let out a groan.
According to the map, they should have had to breach over thirty mechanisms just to reach the Biyeolwon. There were contraptions, troop formations manned by people, and traps like those for catching wild beasts—placed in perfect spots to lure victims.
'This place was impregnable.'
Understanding the layout made cold sweat trickle down his back involuntarily.
If everything had operated normally as per the map, neither he nor anyone else would have even gotten a glimpse of the Biyeolwon. They wouldn't have made it within five hundred paces.
All the mechanisms had been halted.
No people were stationed where formations needed to be manned.
'It's a lure!'
Four Thousand Four had a foreboding thought.
It felt as if some unknown, mysterious force—or someone lurking in the shadows—had deliberately led them here.
'Not coincidence. Absolutely not.'
Four Thousand Four narrowed his eyes and scanned the surrounding terrain once more.
"Who would suffer the most if the Biyeolwon collapsed?"
"Heavenly Commander."
The immediate answer came without hesitation.
"Is internal conflict in the Heavenly Annihilation Division that severe?"
"It is. Wait... what are you saying...?"
"I'm asking if the internal strife is severe enough to strike a blow at the Heavenly Commander."
"No, no. Not in that sense. The Heavenly Commander is the Heavenly Annihilation Division's backbone. He handles all their dirty work—why would anyone touch him?"
"If someone were to start something like that, who could do it?"
"I'm not in a position to even..."
Vanguard shook his head side to side.
"Vanguard."
Four Thousand Four said gravely.
"Sounds like bad news... Out with it."
"Stay here and hold position."
"..."
"As I just said... I feel like I've been dragged into some strange fight. And the ones waging it are probably high-ranking members of the Heavenly Annihilation Division. People who could take out either of us in one move, no doubt."
"Haha! You didn't know when you started this?"
"Pardon?"
This time, Four Thousand Four was the surprised one.
"About people... Before coming here, you met two individuals. One was the Small Penalty Warden, the other North Fate Bloodblade, called North Fate South Small. You know their standings well enough."
"..."
"Do you think you escaped the Small Penalty just with Miserable Little Death's help?"
"Not exactly, but..."
"Thanks to South Small Jeokgal Soso's assistance?"
"..."
Vanguard chuckled.
"Guys like us don't think deeply. But we're true to our instincts. There had to be inside help from the Heavenly Annihilation Division for you to slip out of the Small Penalty."
"I see."
"An insider who can manipulate the Small Penalty? It's obvious. People we'd never even glimpse in a lifetime. You knew that and started this."
"My apologies. Then I'll head in. I'll try my best to come back alive."
"Don't say useless things."
Hanbi cut in coldly.
"Use us to the fullest. You know our martial arts well... Give us plenty of chances to put our strength to work. That's enough. Haha! We're just flies heading to our deaths anyway."
Four Thousand Four approached Hanbi and patted his shoulder.
"Right. From now on, I'll make good use of you busily."
"Shortening your words too? That's too much."
"Haha! You volunteered as hands and feet—don't complain. If you're still breathing after this, I'll buy you a drink."
Vanguard and Hanbi's eyes gleamed.
When Four Thousand Four was endlessly polite, silent, or just doing his tasks... he looked like a lone wolf. The epitome of an assassin focused solely on killing.
But now was different.
Four Thousand Four had experience leading subordinates. Otherwise, seizing command so naturally wouldn't be easy. Right now... he had taken command from Vanguard.
"Hanbi, about ten paces in, there should be the Biyeolwon Lord's corpse. Confirm if it's really him."
"Ha! You say use you, and you start bossing right away. Got it!"
Whoosh!
Hanbi darted into the cave.
"Vanguard, there are living people inside the cave. At least four survivors."
"I get it."
Vanguard entered the cave too.
The cave was the origin point where the White Frost Demon had spewed poison powder. Moreover, a ferocious inferno had raged, hot enough to melt the iron gate—not ordinary flames, but ones fueled by poured oil.
If someone survived such a blaze... it meant they were holed up deep in the mechanisms.
Four Thousand Four had ordered Vanguard to eliminate them.
That meant even if four were hiding in the mechanisms, he could kill them all.
'There are people outside too!'
Just now, Vanguard had spoken of an assassin's instincts. They might not think deeply, but they were faithful to instinct.
What Four Thousand Four felt now was pure instinct.
It wasn't some map he didn't know popping up, nor words like "Heavenly Annihilation" he'd never considered. Just instinct, pure and simple.
Someone was watching him.
In times like this, the map that had just surfaced... the landscape diagram was a great help.
Among countless mountains and places, only a few spots offered a view of the deep cave in the Biyeolwon.
Four Thousand Four looked at one of those spots.
"Who are you?"
He muttered to himself.
Who was watching him? Someone connected to the Biyeolwon, or someone who wanted it destroyed?
All he saw was a mountain.
Nothing visible. Just thick, deep green foliage. But Four Thousand Four sensed eyes watching him from within that greenery. Instinct, of course.
Whoosh!
Hanbi shot back out from the cave at top speed.
"Corpse is there, and it's the Biyeolwon Lord. Vanguard came in too, so we checked together—confirmed it's him. You knew I'd spot it easy, huh?"
Four Thousand Four nodded.
There were many types of poison arts. Countless varieties existed. However, the poison arts cultivated by Poisoner or the Biyeolwon Lord were living poison. The kind trained by ingesting poison... one wrong step and you'd die or go mad.
Such poison arts turned the bones black.
Even if the flesh burned away or bones melted, a single charred black bone fragment would remain.
Anyone could easily identify Poisoner or the Biyeolwon Lord's corpse.
"Vanguard went in saying he had work—should I help? Hey, you're ignoring me—what are you even looking at?"
Only then did Four Thousand Four turn from his gaze and look at Hanbi.
"No, Vanguard needs quiet. Too many people would just get in the way. Let's wait."