Chapter 251
Chapter 251
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 251
Chapter Title: Cornered (4)
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We left the Mara Corpses in the hands of my younger brothers from the Eon Family and hurriedly made our way down the mountain.
As we arrived at the edge of the dock, I glanced around and spotted a few ships that hadn't yet fled.
- Looks like not everyone managed to escape after all?
'...Seems that way for now.'
- For now?
We'd come down in a rush, but even so, they should have had plenty of time to flee.
'In cases like this, it's usually either the blowhards who stayed behind or some kind of trap... one of the two.'
As I shared this thought with my master,
Uncle Jae-hyeok pointed to one of the remaining ships.
"That ship over there. It has a sail flag embroidered with the character Tan."
Dam Yong-ju replied with a hardened expression.
"It's my brother's ship."
Just then, we saw people bustling about on the deck and at the dock.
They appeared to be preparing to set sail.
Trap or just stragglers, we needed to stop them from departing and check it out first.
"They're getting ready to shove off."
Stating the obvious, I turned to Dam Yong-ju and spoke up.
"Brother Dam. How about detaching some of the detachment to deal with the forces guarding the dock? The rest should leap straight onto the ship. What do you think?"
"That sounds good."
Dam Yong-ju immediately issued orders to the Ice Palace warriors.
"Those drawn from the Snow Deer Squad, seize the dock! The rest, board the Little Palace Lord's ship!"
"Yes!"
As the detachment members gave their short, firm replies, over at the dock,
"Stop them!"
the enemy soldiers who had been untying the mooring ropes charged toward us.
The Snow Deer Squad members dashed out to meet them on Dam Yong-ju's command.
"Charge!"
Sparks flew from the clashing weapons.
"Let's go!"
Led by me and Uncle Jae-hyeok, those assigned to board the ship leaped onto the vessel just as it was pulling away from the shore.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!
As we landed on the deck,
the enemy drew their blades and surrounded us.
Clang!
Clang-clang-clang!!
But their faces looked familiar.
They were warriors from the North Sea Ice Palace who had sided with Dam Kyung-ju.
'All familiar faces.'
However, one in particular caught my eye.
'Master, that sword-bearing guy in the very back row. Doesn't he seem off? He looks like he's sheathed it, but he reeks of that unique evil aura of corpse-handlers.'
- That's what it looks like to me too. The stench of blood clinging to his soul is utterly foul.
'If I keep staring, they'll notice we've caught on. Could you keep an eye on him, Master?'
- Not striking right away?
There were too many Ice Palace rebels surrounding us to charge in immediately.
'As you said last time, Brother Dam knows how to handle people well. We might resolve this with the rebels without spilling blood.'
- Attacking that one would turn it into a bloodbath right away. Got it. I'll keep watch on him.
As I enlisted my master's help to monitor the suspicious fellow,
Outer Protector Kyung, who had come along as part of the detachment, bellowed at the rebels.
"How dare you point your swords at the Little Palace Lord?!"
One of them, called the Snow Leopard Squad Leader, spoke up.
"The only Little Palace Lord we recognize is Lord Dam Kyung-ju!"
Outer Protector Kyung was about to roar again when,
"You traitorous scum?!"
Dam Yong-ju stepped forward and spoke.
"I understand. Brother has played the role of successor for so long. He's done much for the North Sea lands and has many merits. Even if it's the Palace Lord's command, it must feel sudden."
"......"
"I can even understand siding with Brother to some extent. The Moyong family incident had me grinding my teeth too. I know where your anger comes from. But this isn't right. None of us knew about all those corpses sleeping right under our noses."
"......"
"Those corpses violated the holy grounds, and your parents, siblings—even now—are spilling blood to stop them. Deep down, don't you feel something's wrong?"
The North Sea Ice Palace warriors who had joined Dam Kyung-ju showed conflicted expressions.
Dam Yong-ju took two more steps forward.
"The ones we should point our swords at aren't each other—it's the Demonic Cult bastards."
The blades aimed at him now touched his body.
But in that attitude of 'stab if you think I'm wrong,' the rebels stepped back instead.
That was it.
Realizing they'd involuntarily retreated, they lowered their weapons.
Clang.
'Good call coming with Brother Dam.'
As I thought that,
Dam Yong-ju asked the rebels,
"Where is my brother? Have all the demon heads fled already?"
The Snow Leopard Squad Leader replied,
"We don't know their exact status, but nearly all the Demonic Cultists at this dock have left. About seven or eight remained, and they're with the Little... First Young Master in the cabin now."
"Understood. Clear the way. I will speak with my brother."
Having parted the rebels, Dam Yong-ju turned to me.
"Let's head to the cabin."
"Yes."
I nodded readily and walked toward the cabin with Dam Yong-ju. As we passed the suspicious guy I'd been watching,
I thrust out my left hand in a flash, unleashing Anti-Dragon Palm.
Screeech!!!
The guy panicked and tried to block my palm strike.
"!"
His reaction wasn't slow, but since it came the instant he judged 'he hasn't noticed?', my surprise attack landed true.
Splat!!!!!
With the sound of striking a leather drum, he flew back a zhang and crashed into the side of the deck with a bird-like screech,
"Kyaa!"
coughed up blood, and slumped like he was dead.
At this sudden turn, some rebels cried out in panicked gazes.
"W-We surrendered! What is the meaning of this?!"
Even Dam Yong-ju widened his eyes as if asking why the sudden move.
"Little Dragon?"
I spoke right away.
"That one's not from the North Sea Ice Palace."
* * * I called out to the guy who'd been flung away.
"Enough with the acting. Get up."
Then, he shrugged his shoulders and cackled.
"Heh-heh-heh-heh. Wow. I went to all the trouble of disguising myself and masking my presence, and you still spotted it. How'd you know?"
But that voice was familiar.
It was the voice that had teased me about playing around.
'Yeon Ok-ran?'
I'd thought maybe they'd planted an assassin amid Dam Kyung-ju's group and the stragglers, but it was Yeon Ok-ran herself who'd stayed?
Without hesitation, I called Uncle Jae-hyeok and charged at her.
"Uncle! That's Yeon Ok-ran!"
"What?!"
Uncle Jae-hyeok furrowed his brows and kicked off the deck.
Dam Yong-ju quickly shouted,
"Seize her!"
At our movements, Yeon Ok-ran hurriedly flung herself backward and whistled shrilly.
Whiiiiistle!!!
Then, cabin doors burst open as demon soldiers leaped out.
"Protect the Lord!"
There were only six of them.
But they were highly skilled.
Seemed like direct subordinates attending the titled demon cult elites.
Screeeeech!!
But we had Uncle Jae-hyeok and the Ice Palace detachment.
Clang!
"I'll take these guys! Yong-un, go after that witch!"
"We'll help too, Professor Paeng! Little Dragon, chase that demoness!"
As they took on the demon soldiers, I closed in on Yeon Ok-ran.
"Yeon Ok-ran. Where you going? Weren't we gonna play?"
She cackled back at me.
"Hee-hee. Seeing you chase me like this, I must really be your type, huh?"
"Keep talking like that. Mind standing still for a sec?"
"No way. Easy girls aren't fun, right? But how'd you know my name?"
"Sa-hong spilled it."
"That junior of mine is such a lightweight. Blabbing a lady's name around! If he hadn't croaked, I'd have given him a real scolding!"
"I'll let you tag along. You can give him that scolding in hell. Sound good?"
With those words, I unleashed Shadowless Heaven-Splitting Step.
Fwosh!
I closed the distance in an instant.
Just as I nearly reached Yeon Ok-ran,
'Killing intent?'
Thick killing intent surged from the side.
Some guy charged at me with bloodshot eyes glaring red.
Kreeeak!
I slammed the brakes on my rush toward Yeon Ok-ran.
Twisting my body, I swung Regret upward.
Claaaang!!!!!!!!!!
The sword thrust from the side clashed with Regret, sparks flying.
In that gap, I saw the killing blow's owner: none other than Dam Kyung-ju.
"...Dam Kyung-ju?"
"Eon Yong-un!!!"
But his appearance had changed.
His eyes were bloodshot like he'd caught pinkeye, bright red.
His build had bulked up a bit since I'd scarred his chest.
It wasn't just looks.
Screech! Screeech!!
Screeeeech!!!
The guy who could never fully match my movements before was now unleashing sword strikes with equal speed and power.
Clang! Klang!
Klaaaang!!!
In moments, Dam Kyung-ju had become a foe I couldn't ignore.
As his swordplay tied me down,
Yeon Ok-ran, reaching the bow, called out laughing.
"Eon Yong-un! It wasn't bad having a guy like you chasing me! See you next time!"
Then she dove into the lake with a splash.
I wanted to pursue her right then.
But my reason screamed no.
'Something's up.'
Thinking about it, Yeon Ok-ran sticking around here felt off from the start.
Even now.
'If she wanted me dead, teaming up with Dam Kyung-ju would've been better. But she just bailed.'
It felt like she was luring me specifically.
Who knew what trap awaited.
'And I'm nearing my limit anyway.'
The prolonged fights and raising those skeleton soldiers had drained a ton of my internal energy and mental strength.
Chasing Yeon Ok-ran alone in this state was suicide.
'But I can't just let her go.'
While parrying Dam Kyung-ju's ice arts, I cut my left finger.
Clang! Klaaaang!
Then, I shot a drop of blood toward the traces of Yeon Ok-ran vomiting from my earlier palm strike.
Pushing Yeon Ok-ran from my mind, I focused on Dam Kyung-ju.
"Dam Kyung-ju. Do you have any idea what you've done?"
I gritted my teeth and swung Regret at him.
He smirked at my words.
"I know!"
"You know?"
"I just helped a friend! Once I slaughter you and Yong-ju, the Demon Prison Lord will bring the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's main forces! Then I'll reclaim my position! And the North Sea Ice Palace's grand plan will continue!"
"What nonsense is that, Kyung-ju? You eat something bad?"
This guy, who'd seemed fairly shrewd, spilling his guts like this felt wrong.
"You absorbed the blood corpses with that divine art you called demonic!"
...Idiot.
Looks like my guess was spot on.
"Soon, the demonic energy will surge to your marrow, and there'll be backlash from the demonic art. Snap out of it now, step aside, and circulate your energy."
"My strength and energy overflow! My mind's clear. How is this demonic?!"
Contrary to Dam Kyung-ju's claims,
as he poured out more ice arts and drew on more demonic energy, his speech grew increasingly slurred.
Screeeeech!!
Kaboom!
"...You're the evil ones! Threatening Ice Palace North Sea! Trying to steal our goods!"
Then, at some point, his pupils lost focus completely.
"Graaaaaah!"
Foam dripping from his mouth, he turned into a beast in human form, bellowing incoherently.
'...An initial-stage blood corpse.'
Dam Kyung-ju had transformed into the most brainless form among living-to-corpse conversions.
"Even like this, Brother Dam and the elders won't cut you down easily."
There was no turning back someone who'd become neither man nor corpse.
"I'll do it."
Recalling Elder Dam Chang-gyu's dying plea to protect the North Sea Ice Palace, I charged at Dam Kyung-ju.
The mutated Dam Kyung-ju swung wildly with single-minded intent to kill me.
"Graaaaaah!"
But at this point, he posed no threat.
I used the iced-over deck from his ice arts to slide into footwork,
grabbed his back the moment I closed in, planted my stance,
and unleashed the Heaven-Splitting Severing Strike at his neck.
Screeeeech!!
Slice!
His frozen blood vessels from the rampaging yin energy spilled not a single drop.
"Couldn't be a good son... but won't make your late father grieve."