Chapter 159: Declaring War
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159: Declaring War
The warriors of the Hwangbo Clan could not hide their bewilderment upon hearing Sun-woo’s words.
They had harbored suspicions, but they never imagined that their Clan Head, Hwangbo Gang, and the elite Heavenly King Unit would be annihilated by a single man—the Poison King.
Who exactly was Hwangbo Gang?
Was he not a hero of the Great War of Righteousness and Demons, the man known as the "Heavenly King Divine Fist" who had crushed the skulls of countless demons?
He was a man recognized by all as having no equal among those who wielded the fist, having reached the Transcendent Realm.
Furthermore, what kind of force was the Heavenly King Unit?
Were they not the strike force known as the elite of the elite within the Hwangbo Clan?
Every member was a master at the Peak Realm or higher, and both the Unit Leader and Vice-Leader were top-tier elites who had reached the Super-Peak Realm.
That force alone possessed enough power to wipe out an average small-to-medium sect in an instant.
Yet, these men, who boasted such overwhelming might, had been slaughtered by the Poison King alone.
It was a fact they could neither believe nor wanted to accept.
Soon, despair began to cloud their eyes.
Whether he noticed their inner turmoil or not, Sun-woo addressed them in a booming voice.
"As you likely already know, Hwangbo Gang and the Heavenly King Unit ambushed me. Hwangbo Gang lured me to this clearing, and the Heavenly King Unit blocked my retreat to kill me. I was forced to defend myself, and in the end, Hwangbo Gang and the Heavenly King Unit met their deaths."
Sun-woo began to explain the circumstances in exhaustive detail.
He knew that for the Orthodox Faction, who obsessed over appearances, he needed to establish a proper justification to avoid any future complications.
"Even though Hwangbo Gang and the Heavenly King Unit are dead, the rage burning deep in my heart shows no sign of subsiding! How could the head of the prestigious Hwangbo Clan stoop so low as to launch a coordinated ambush?"
Sun-woo continued, his expression twisted in feigned displeasure.
In truth, looking at the circumstances, Sun-woo held an incredibly advantageous position in terms of justification.
Numerous people at the inn had witnessed Sun-woo being invited by the Hwangbo Clan, and the place where Hwangbo Gang and the Heavenly King Unit died was a secluded, private area.
To any observer, the intent for a premeditated murder was clear.
Moreover, the most important factor was that the victim of this incident, the Poison King, was still alive.
Is it not said that history is written by the victors?
Even if the situation had been unfavorable, the Poison King was a man with enough influence to overturn it all. But now, with the facts on his side, there was no reason not to take full advantage.
I’ll strip them down to their very foundations.
Sun-woo gloated inwardly at the thought of picking the Hwangbo Clan clean.
If the leadership of the Hwangbo Clan had any sense, they would choose to prostrate themselves rather than face total extermination at the hands of the Poison King.
Sun-woo was certain.
He was sure they would fall to their knees at any moment.
However, their thoughts seemed to be elsewhere.
"That is... truly unfortunate."
As Sun-woo finished speaking, the man at the front finally opened his mouth.
But his attitude was so calm that Sun-woo felt a sudden sense of dissonance.
What is this?
Sun-woo felt a prickle of doubt.
The current situation was overwhelmingly in his favor. Hwangbo Gang and the Heavenly King Unit, who had tried to kill him, were dead. They represented a massive portion of the Hwangbo Clan’s core strength.
Right now, the Hwangbo Clan was inferior in both moral justification and martial might.
So where did that calm attitude come from? They should have been weeping and begging for mercy.
It was then, as Sun-woo was questioning the situation.
The man reached into his robes and pulled something out.
It was a round, black object.
He wasn't the only one. The group of warriors behind him also pulled out similar black objects, their expressions filled with grim determination.
The man at the front looked at Sun-woo and spoke.
"Poison King, may you have a pleasant journey to the afterlife."
A smile spread across the man's lips.
A suicide attack?!
In that instant, Sun-woo realized it. The man intended to take Sun-woo down with him.
Sun-woo immediately began to circulate the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth. He didn't know exactly what the objects were, but he had to prepare.
Crunch.
The Hwangbo warriors simultaneously crushed the black objects.
In an instant, a blinding light filled his vision, followed by a massive explosion.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosion engulfed everyone in the cavern.
Flesh and bone were torn apart, turning into handfuls of ash in seconds.
Unable to withstand the force of the blast, the ceiling of the cavern began to cave in.
Thud! Crash! Rumble!
Massive boulders rained down, and soon, the entire area collapsed completely.
*
Rumble!
Hwangbo Gap, the General Manager of the Hwangbo Clan, watched the distant explosion of the secluded training hall with a sorrowful gaze.
The place where Hwangbo Gang had lured the Poison King was a training hall used by the direct bloodline of the Hwangbo family for generations. It had been built with maximum seclusion and security in mind so that one could focus entirely on cultivation, making it the ideal place to deal with the Poison King.
And now, that training hall was exploding and collapsing.
As the sound of the explosions grew louder, Hwangbo Gap’s eyes sank into a deep, heavy gloom.
Before the battle with the Poison King, Hwangbo Gang had made a contingency plan. It was a plan for the possibility that he and the Heavenly King Unit might be defeated.
He had commanded the General Manager:
If three shijin passed after they entered the training hall and no one emerged, he was to send in members of the branch family armed with Thunderbolt Bombs.
And if the Poison King was still alive, they were to detonate the bombs without hesitation.
Upon hearing those orders, Hwangbo Gap had been left speechless.
What were Thunderbolt Bombs?
They were the legendary weapons of the now-extinct Thunderbolt Sect. A single Thunderbolt Bomb possessed enough power to easily send a Peak Realm master across the Sanzu River.
To use such weapons!
Furthermore, weren't those Thunderbolt Bombs a stockpile they had been hoarding, waiting for the price to rise?
It was madness. If ten of those bombs were detonated, more than half of the estate would be leveled.
He had protested vehemently, but Hwangbo Gang had been unyielding.
In the end, Hwangbo Gap had no choice but to carry out the Clan Head's orders faithfully.
Exactly three shijin after Hwangbo Gang and the Heavenly King Unit entered, Hwangbo Gap handed two Thunderbolt Bombs to each of the five branch family members.
While one person might have been enough, he couldn't rule out the possibility of a misfire, so he sent five.
Hwangbo Gap had promised them solemnly that they need not worry about their families; the Hwangbo Clan would take responsibility and ensure they lived in luxury for the rest of their lives.
With grim resolve, they had marched toward the training hall, and Hwangbo Gap had evacuated all the servants and family members.
As he evacuated them, he prayed and prayed again. He prayed that nothing would happen.
But the result betrayed his desperate hopes.
An explosion had occurred. A massive, cataclysmic explosion.
Tears began to well in Hwangbo Gap’s eyes.
He knew better than anyone what that explosion signified.
That massive blast meant that the Clan Head and the elite warriors of the Hwangbo Clan were all dead.
He could only stare at the collapsing training hall, listening to the thunderous roar, with sorrowful eyes.
He prayed for the souls of the fallen Hwangbo kinsmen.
*
Once the explosions subsided, Hwangbo Gap led a group of warriors toward the site of the training hall.
He knew there might not even be remains left, but he felt he had to check. At the very least, he had to try and recover the bodies.
His steps toward the training hall were incredibly heavy.
To take down one man, the Poison King, the entire peak strength of the Hwangbo Clan had been sacrificed. It was an absurdly lopsided trade.
The Tang Clan had lost their strength, but they still possessed the technology and wealth to overcome it.
But for the Hwangbo Clan, their martial strength was everything. They weren't particularly wealthy, nor did they possess exceptional techniques. The reputation of the Hwangbo warriors was their only asset, and now even that was gone.
From now on, they might be called one of the Four Great Clans instead of the Five.
Hwangbo Gap’s expression sagged with worry.
As he fretted, he finally arrived at the site of the training hall.
"...Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped Hwangbo Gap’s lips at the sight.
The training hall had been carved into a small rocky hill. Thus, there should have been a small hill visible, but it was gone.
It had collapsed. The entire hill.
Hwangbo Gap shook his head. With this much power, he felt that not even the Absolute Martial God, the world's greatest martial artist, could have survived, let alone the Poison King.
"Alright, everyone, clear the rocks! We must recover the bodies!"
Hwangbo Gap shouted, turning to the warriors.
Sorrow was sorrow, but work had to be done.
At his command, the warriors rushed toward the ruins of the training hall and began clearing the boulders.
Watching them, Hwangbo Gap fell into silent thought. He was contemplating how to maximize the clan's interests in this situation.
It didn't take long for him to reach a conclusion.
War.
Yes. They would wage war against the Tang Clan.
Although the Hwangbo Clan had lost an absolute master like Hwangbo Gang and the brilliant talents of the Heavenly King Unit, the Elders and the Council of Elders remained.
While their numbers weren't vast, their combined strength was still enough to surpass the current Tang Clan.
If they used the pretext that the Poison King had attacked the Hwangbo Clan and killed the Clan Head and the Heavenly King Unit, even the Cheonmu Alliance, which had vowed to protect the Tang Clan, would have to step back.
Hwangbo Gap nodded. Even he thought it was a perfect plan.
If they could secure the Tang Clan’s wealth and technology, they could at least prevent the clan's total decline.
Since the Poison King was dead anyway, public opinion would favor the Hwangbo Clan.
Is it not said that history is on the side of the victor? No one would dare criticize the Hwangbo Clan.
Just as Hwangbo Gap was harboring these ambitions against the Tang Clan...
Rattle, rattle.
A strange, discordant sound began to hit his ears.
Hwangbo Gap quickly turned his head.
He saw it. One part of the massive pile of rubble was shifting.
CRASH!
Rumble!
Soon, with a thunderous roar, the pile of rocks began to collapse outward.
The Hwangbo warriors scrambled backward to avoid the falling boulders.
BOOM!
Another roar echoed, and the remaining piles of rubble gave way completely.
From the center of that noise, a man emerged.
He looked somewhat ridiculous, covered in stone dust from head to toe, but Hwangbo Gap recognized him instantly.
He recognized that middle-aged man with the cold, piercing gaze.
Hwangbo Gap’s pupils began to shake uncontrollably.
Thinking he might be hallucinating, he rubbed his eyes repeatedly.
But soon, Hwangbo Gap was forced to accept reality.
"The... Poison King."
Yes. The man who had appeared was the Head of the Tang Clan and a hero of the Great War of Righteousness and Demons—the Poison King.
He had survived the coordinated attack of the Heavenly King Divine Fist and the clan's greatest elite unit, followed by a direct hit from the legendary Thunderbolt Bombs.
Hwangbo Gap’s eyes darted wildly in disbelief.
This was something he had never anticipated. No, it was something he had deemed impossible.
The situation itself made no sense. Defeating Hwangbo Gang and the Heavenly King Unit was one thing, but to endure the Thunderbolt Bombs?!
A Thunderbolt Bomb had enough power to easily level a small hill. Furthermore, the training hall was a confined space. The force of the explosion would have been magnified, and the collapsing mountain of stone should have crushed him.
Yet, by all appearances, the Poison King didn't have a single scratch on him.
"You."
It was then. Sun-woo spoke, looking directly at Hwangbo Gap.
"Y-Yes!"
Hwangbo Gap answered reflexively.
"Are you the one in charge here?"
"T-That is correct. I am Hwangbo Gap, the General Manager of the Hwangbo Clan."
"Is that so?"
Sun-woo continued, seemingly satisfied with the answer. He had been thinking he needed someone to handle the aftermath, and this was perfect.
"I dislike long-winded talk, so I’ll get straight to the point."
Gulp.
Hwangbo Gap swallowed hard at Sun-woo’s words. He had no idea what was coming.
"It's war."
Sun-woo spoke in a firm, decisive tone.
"W-What?! What do you mean by—?!"
"As of today, the Tang Clan declares war on the Hwangbo Clan. And this war will not end until one of our two families is completely exterminated."
Upon hearing those words, Hwangbo Gap’s face turned deathly pale.
It seemed the tribulations of the Hwangbo Clan were far from over.