Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: Chapter 34: Seat One (2)
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The Heavenly Commander's words were not a lie.
Night retreated, and morning arrived. With the bright sunlight came a young man and woman.
Jaja and Fox.
They walked in with their lower lips bitten tight, shoulders slumped as if they'd resigned themselves to fate.
Hanbi stepped forward to greet Jaja.
"Step aside. You're not good enough."
Jaja spoke with a pained expression.
"How cruel..."
Hanbi smirked.
"Did you know I liked you?"
"I don't care about that."
Jaja replied flatly.
"I know you don't. But you sure seemed interested in him."
Hanbi jerked his chin toward Fox.
Fox looked at Jaja with mild surprise.
Jaja bit her lower lip hard once more and spoke harshly.
"He's still too young. Don't you get what kind of situation we're in? Even now, you're bringing up something like that?"
"That's exactly why I'm saying it. We can never say things like this in the good times."
"So what do you want me to do about it?"
"What do you mean? I'm saying I like you."
Shing!
Hanbi drew his sword.
Jaja shook her head.
"I said you're not good enough. Vanguard, are you really going to keep pushing this? You think I'll waver just because he's spouting some clumsy love talk?"
"You'll only know if you fight him. Aren't you both top-class from the Martial Camp? Besides, he had a stroke of luck recently. He's not the Hanbi you used to know."
Vanguard said with a faint smile.
Jaja's expression twisted.
She didn't want to fight Hanbi. She wanted to face Vanguard.
Even if their positions were switched and Hanbi were in her place, he'd feel the same.
In other words, she wanted to die.
When she gave her all, the only one who could kill her was Vanguard.
The Heavenly Annihilation Division was watching.
If she ignored the decree, that would be one thing, but bound by it as she was, she had to give her all in every fight. The Heavenly Annihilation Division only acknowledged deaths where one's best was given.
Could Hanbi really kill her?
He might. Whatever fortune he'd gained, his martial arts had advanced enough to win. Especially since Vanguard had said it—she trusted that completely.
But she wouldn't go down easily either.
If Hanbi severed her neck, she'd at least take one of his limbs with her.
That was a wound Jaja didn't want.
But... Hanbi had already stepped forward, and Vanguard had no intention of stopping it. What could she do?
"If you want to die that badly."
Shing!
Jaja drew her sword.
"I've always been curious about your martial arts."
"Heh! And here I thought I wasn't even from the Martial Camp, so why would you care. Vanguard, just kill me cleanly and be done with it."
Fox said with a playful laugh.
But she planned to give her all too. She drew two slender thin swords, each half the length of a normal long sword, and spun them excitedly.
"The Nineteen Hells has a thorough grasp on every sinner's background... except for you and Four Thousand Four."
"No point investigating. It's nothing special."
"Say that all you want... You'll know soon enough."
Whoosh!
Vanguard assumed his stance.
Fox took her stance as well. But it was strange. Her left knee was bent almost to the ground. The thin sword in her left hand extended horizontally toward Vanguard, while the one in her right was twisted behind her back, also parallel to the ground.
"Hm! Isn't that..."
"Right. Serpent Twin Hands."
As soon as Fox uttered "Serpent Twin Hands," Jaja and Hanbi, locked in tense confrontation nearby, both turned to look.
Serpent Twin Hands was an ancient supreme art.
It was also the unique supreme technique of the pinnacle master known in the current martial world as Blue Flame.
"Heh heh! What an unexpected reinforcement here. Subduing you two wasn't going to be easy. Fox, what's your connection to Blue Flame?"
"Huh? Weird question. Shouldn't it be, 'Fox, are you Blue Flame?'"
"Heh heh! Your Serpent Twin Hands... It's no joke, but I think I can handle it. If it were Blue Flame herself, I wouldn't even dream of it."
"Well, gotta give you credit for those sharp eyes, Vanguard."
"You don't want to answer, huh."
"Just fight already. Whatever my tie to Blue Flame, you can't avoid this battle anyway."
"I see."
Vanguard nodded.
One thing didn't make sense.
Fox clearly had some connection to Blue Flame. Close enough to learn Serpent Twin Hands.
So how did someone like her end up captured by the Nineteen Hells? With Fox here, why hadn't Blue Flame shown up? If Fox was being controlled like a puppet by the Heavenly Annihilation Division's weakness on her... why hadn't Blue Flame freed her from the decree?
No amount of calm pondering would explain it.
In any case, he had to face the ancient supreme art, Serpent Twin Hands.
Strike the front, and the rear strikes back. Strike the rear, and the front lunges. Hit the center, and both sides cling on.
"By the way... where's Four Thousand Four?"
"That guy? Haha! He was dancing with his sword late into the night and is still sleeping like a log."
"Lucky bastard."
"Shall we go?"
"Come on!"
Shieeeek!
Vanguard launched his form the moment the invitation ended.
Serpent Twin Hands was no joke. Even at full effort, victory wasn't guaranteed.
Kaang! Kangkangkang!
The thin swords and long sword clashed, sparks flying.
That morning, no one had paid much mind to capturing Jaja and Fox. They figured it would be easy. Vanguard thought so, Hanbi too... Everyone's internal energy had surged, incomparable to before.
Yet here they were, forced to go all out.
Why had the Heavenly Commander sent Jaja and Fox to fight their own kind? The reason was clear. He wanted to probe Four Thousand Four's weakness to decrees.
Green Death had betrayed his master.
Send Jaja and Fox. A guy who abandoned his master wouldn't care for comrades... Show him his people dying one by one.
But a variable arose. Fox unleashed Serpent Twin Hands.
Vanguard and Hanbi should have swept them aside easily, but now it was a dire situation.
'Heh heh! Fox, you've got a talent for startling people.'
Four Thousand Four chuckled softly.
Fox's Serpent Twin Hands wasn't that threatening. Sharply precise, but lacking power. Each form needed the strength to repel an iron mace, but it fell short.
She could match Vanguard only thanks to the technique's subtlety.
But that subtlety would become familiar over time. And then Vanguard's counter would be deadly. Maybe she had a trump card held back for that moment.
Four Thousand Four glanced at their fight, then slipped away like a shadow.
Parararak!
His robes fluttered briefly before silence fell.
The old man's Shadowless Step unfolded. Specialized in defense and stealth, it spread out.
'Cherry blossoms! It's the Flower Scale Array.'
Four Thousand Four caught his breath amid the blooming flowers.
He surveyed his surroundings to pinpoint his location. There had been a bamboo grove before the old man's hall, and now he'd found the Flower Scale Array.
Two points matched on the mental map.
Four Thousand Four now knew exactly where he was.
'Flower scales... A floral scent calling death.'
He felt newfound respect for whoever built the Heavenly Annihilation Division. How much blood and sweat went into a place like this?
Twenty paces past the Flower Scale Array lay a pond. The Peaceful Death Abyss, meant for the dead.
Four Thousand Four focused on the Peaceful Death Abyss.
Somewhere there was the Thunder Prison. If his master was imprisoned, he'd surely be there.
If he couldn't rescue his master, his first goal was to let him pass peacefully.
Rescuing and escaping with him was secondary.
Shaking the Heavenly Annihilation Division to free all assassins from their decrees was tertiary.
From small to large.
From easy to hard.
The third goal seemed half-achieved. Eliminating the sub-branch had thrown them into chaos. The trail on the betrayers had snapped.
That alone was a huge win.
The problem? The assassins didn't even realize it.
The decrees still hung over the Heavenly Annihilation Division.
As long as they thought they were under surveillance, they felt no freedom. And that belief was perfectly reasonable.
'First, I need to get through there...'
Four Thousand Four scanned the Flower Scale Array's perimeter.
The array itself was a death trap, so no one guarded the cherry blossom field. No sane person would stroll into a flowerbed laced with death.
Detours were heavily patrolled.
Of course, they hid stealthily. So deep it seemed empty.
Four Thousand Four heard their breathing.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Heartbeats at steady intervals. Extremely slow, almost imperceptible.
He closed his eyes, seeking a path around them.
He imagined movements. Calculated his capabilities coldly, predicted theirs precisely.
Caught. Even stealthy, he hit the net.
Try again. Again. This way, that way... Every possible method.
All caught.
Their watch was a dense net. Any infiltration snagged.
'Interesting.'
Four Thousand Four opened his eyes.
Even Shadowless Step got caught. Stealth movement too. No space to slip through.
One option left... frontal breakthrough.
Swoooosh!
Four Thousand Four slipped into the Flower Scale Array.
Only way to the Peaceful Death Abyss. Hesitate when every path leads to detection? Better head where they can't follow.
"It's the Flower Scale Array, huh? Only that guy could stroll so casually into a death trap."
"Indeed."
"But... hasn't he changed a lot? In just ten days."
"A lot."
"How about now?"
North命 Blood Blade glanced at the beauty beside him.
"Don't compare."
Crimson Moon answered coldly.
"Heh heh! Right. No comparing. No presuming. No using. I forgot for a moment."
"Is Green Death in the Peaceful Death Abyss?"
Blood Blade nodded.
"Who leaked our formation layout? You know it too well. Ah! Don't say the Elder. I remember his face when he first saw Four Thousand Four."
"That... I'm still investigating too."
"Will you let him meet Green Death?"
"Well. Green Death falls under Heavenly Commander."
Blood Blade looked amusedly at the cherry blossoms.
From their pavilion, not just the field but the Peaceful Death Abyss was in full view.
Yet Four Thousand Four, inside the array, was invisible.
He should be weaving through the flowers, but no movement showed.
Of course, they knew Shadowless Step was active. Still, not seeing him at all?
Papapop! Papapapapapop!
The cherry blossom field erupted in commotion. The Flower Scale Array had finally triggered.