Chapter 457
Chapter 457
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 457
Chapter Title: Shall We Hook Him? (1)
"Venerable Won-cheol! Switch places with Priest Jeong-hyeon!"
"Yes! Lay practitioner Ha-yeon!"
"Priest Jeong-hyeon, step back for a moment!"
With Won-cheol and Namgung Yun joining the fray, the Medicine King Hall group finally got a chance to catch their breath in turns.
"...Ugh. Very well."
However, Jeong-hyeon didn't think that this breathing room meant they held the advantage.
'Young Master Namgung and Venerable Won-cheol... neither is in peak condition.'
No doubt there had been a fierce battle under the Vermilion Bird Gate as well.
The two reinforcements weren't at full strength either.
"So you're Namgung Yun, the Flying Dragon Sword? I've tangled with a few of your collateral branch swordsmen, but the direct line's blade is indeed something else."
Yeon Jeok-san, the man they faced, was quickly gauging the abilities of Eon Yong-un's siblings.
'Which is shortening the time we have to rest even further.'
Of course, Yeon Jeok-san wasn't unscathed either.
Squish—
Amid the razor-sharp coordination of Taegong, Ak-gong, and the Eon siblings.
Yeon Jeok-san's hair was disheveled, his body covered in large and small wounds.
But as their exchanges piled up, the damage between sides wasn't equal.
Boom!!!
Even in the ongoing fight, Yeon Jeok-san's breathing remained steady.
Meanwhile, the Eon siblings taking his attacks head-on had blood trickling from their mouths without exception.
'...Is he this strong?'
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Bright Right Messenger.
Eon Yong-un had emphasized time and again how dangerous such a figure was.
It was a fact verifiable in the histories of the Orthodox-Demonic Wars, the main research material of the Murim Alliance.
'It says the White Path Murim suffered massive losses to demon heads of similar rank back then...'
Thus, he had known of Yeon Jeok-san's peril before facing him.
But without direct experience, he'd only vaguely imagined based on past demon encounters.
Now facing him, he had to admit the reality exceeded imagination.
'I've never felt this pressure...'
Among the demons he'd fought, only Blood Demon Jin Gwang-ryang or Earthly Moon Horse Yang Gyu came close.
In some ways, this one felt even more dangerous.
'His movement technique resembles Young Master Eon's but twisted in a bizarre way.'
Jeong-hyeon keenly felt Eon Yong-un's absence anew, filled with awe for him.
'Young Master Eon lured these archdemons and faced them alone...'
As Jeong-hyeon steadied his ragged breath with such thoughts.
Eon Yong-myeong, exchanging palm strikes directly with Yeon Jeok-san, spat blood.
"Cough!"
"Young Master Eon! Rotate out with Brother!"
"...Yes."
Jeong-hyeon swiftly returned to one wing of the Crane Wing Formation.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Swoooosh!!
His body spun left and right, tracing a taijitu to deflect Yeon Jeok-san's ferocious assault for a moment.
Clang! Claaang!
Claaaaang!!!!
Amid the pouring strikes and stomping formation steps, dust billowing.
Yeon Jeok-san's form vanished like evaporating mist.
Whoosh—
Of course, no healthy man evaporates suddenly.
In short, Yeon Jeok-san had moved at a speed Jeong-hyeon couldn't track.
'Lost him...'
Jeong-hyeon's heart sank, head whipping around instinctively.
Then Woo So-ryeong's voice rang from the rear.
"Priest Jeong-hyeon! Behind you!"
Shouting thus, Woo So-ryeong charged in like lightning, wedging between Jeong-hyeon and Yeon Jeok-san.
He thrust his sword into the palm force erupting from Yeon Jeok-san's hand.
Claaaaaaaang!!!!
Thanks to that, Jeong-hyeon escaped danger, but Woo So-ryeong flew back three zhang from the rebound, crashing down.
Bam!!!
As the Medicine King Hall group rushed Yeon Jeok-san again.
"Ngh."
Woo So-ryeong groaned, rising, when Yin Ha-yeon asked.
"Senior Langya Sword and Ha-seong absent, you're alone... not from the Azure Dragon Gate, then?"
"Ah! Yes! Brother Eon sent me!"
At Woo So-ryeong's reply.
Jeong-hyeon grasped Eon Yong-un's intent.
"...Don't tell me you were told to clear a path?"
Instead of answering, Woo So-ryeong countered.
"Before that, that old... no, that ancient bastard—is he the Cult's Bright Right Messenger?"
"So it seems."
Only then did he nod.
"Yes, that's right. He said don't get cocky, just open the way."
At Woo So-ryeong's words.
Cheon Jang-ho asked amid his frantic movements.
"Has Brother Yong-un's side wrapped up?"
"When I left on orders, they were still in the thick of it."
At that response, Cheon Jang-ho asked again, uncomprehending.
"Then Brother Yong-un's neck is barely a foot from the axe, and he says clear the path?"
"The fight with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is just beginning, he has a plan, so trust and leave it to him."
"What... That guy's chronic illness is flaring up again."
Cheon Jang-ho voiced it, but all shared the sentiment.
No one wanted to pile the burden of the Bright Right Messenger onto Eon Yong-un's already heavy shoulders.
But at that moment.
Eon Yong-myeong spoke with a grim expression.
"Brother Woo. Do as Big Brother says."
And Yin Ha-yeon added.
"Yes. Let's do that."
Woo So-ryeong swallowed dryly, then bellowed at Yeon Jeok-san.
"H-Hey! You demon bastard! Eat this!!"
He hurled a dagger from his sleeve.
Screeeeech!!!!
The dagger left Woo So-ryeong's hand, tracing a sharp arc toward Yeon Jeok-san.
Yet Yeon Jeok-san, mid-block of the other Eon siblings' attacks, easily snatched it with index and middle fingers.
But upon checking the caught dagger, his brow furrowed instantly.
"...This is?"
A scrap of cloth wrapped around the dagger's hilt was a piece of the dragon robe worn by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's elites.
"...You rat."
From his first appearance here, Yeon Jeok-san's goal had been securing Hyeok Ryeon-so's safety amid his fight with Eon Yong-un.
Ignoring all others present, he kicked off toward Woo So-ryeong.
Whoosh!
Woo So-ryeong gulped in fright and bolted away.
"Eek!"
As the two began distancing from the Medicine King Hall.
Namgung Yun flared up, shouting.
"Cough! Eon Yong-myeong! Yin Ha-yeon! What is this?!"
"......"
"......"
At Namgung Yun's words.
As Eon Yong-myeong and Yin Ha-yeon remained silent.
Dang Ok-gi hesitantly spoke.
"...Eon Yong-un said to do it."
"Do it just because he said?! Sure, that guy's spell hangs over us from the heavens, but there's no signal their fight's ended! Woo So-ryeong said he doesn't know either. Sending that Bright Right Messenger monster over there—what's the plan?!"
"Ack! How should I know? I was just trying to understand Ha-yeon and Yong-myeong. It's an emergency. Eon Yong-un's our rep—if he's gone, Ha-yeon stands in. We follow her, right?"
"Still... cough."
"Worry about your breathing! Unless you're strong enough to hold that demon geezer yourself? Why vent your anger at others?!"
Dang Ok-gi's words pierced not just her and Namgung Yun, but everyone's hearts.
"......"
"......"
Everyone present was furious at themselves.
It was inevitable.
When Eon Yong-un had volunteered for the front lines before, they could at least call it unfair.
This time, their collective shortcomings had forced open a path to Yeon Jeok-san.
"......"
"......"
"......"
"......"
"......"
A heavy silence descended for a moment.
Then Ye Chi-su spoke, rousing the disheartened Eon siblings.
"...A fearsome foe. For the first time, I regret leaving the secular world. We can't be frogs in a well. This isn't the time for despair."
Wang Seon-nam added.
"Right. He's not one to send such a message without thought—you who've known him longer know best. I have my suspicions. When he met Yeom Yak-i, they shared words I didn't hear."
At Wang Seon-nam's words, Yin Ha-yeon, recollected, spoke.
"Yes. No time for this. Hesitate after a loss, and we're bankrupt. Repay it later. With that, Priest Jeong-hyeon and Venerable Won-cheol—head to the Vermilion Bird Gate."
"Not the Black Tortoise Gate where Young Master Eon is?"
"Yes. With the Bright Right Messenger here, other Cult reinforcements will come too. Even if Shaolin disciples arrive fast, we must hold at least one more shi chen. Young Master Namgung seems badly injured—better stay here."
As Yin Ha-yeon spoke.
A band of demons appeared from the direction the Bright Right Messenger had come.
"Charge!"
"Something might've happened at the Vermilion Bird Gate too! Hurry!"
"Yes!"
As Jeong-hyeon and Won-cheol raced toward the Vermilion Bird Gate.
Yin Ha-yeon pointed at Dang Ok-gi and Cheon Jang-ho.
"You two, relatively intact—check the Black Tortoise Gate. Young Master Eon has a plan, but maybe you can help."
* * * Clang! Claaang!
Claaaaang!!!!!
After sending Woo So-ryeong off, I pressed Hyeok Ryeon-so relentlessly.
Then Yin Ha-seong sent a transmission.
[Brother Yong-un. You've always stressed that demons of Marquis rank or above are dangerous, right?]
[I have.]
[...Then why order us to call in someone like the Bright Right Messenger? With him joining, the scales tipping our way could swing unpredictably.]
[If only he joins in this situation, sure. But if we thin their forces before he arrives?]
[Is that possible?]
[With a bit of risk, yes.]
[...Pardon?]
To that end, I'd openly mentioned trouble on our side.
To make Hyeok Ryeon-so think he and his aides could handle it.
No time to explain in detail.
[You trust me, right?]
[Of course, Brother.]
[Then, I'll summon an assassin soon—use that as the signal. Go all-out on Hyeok Ryeon-so with your ultimate techniques, mutual destruction mindset.]
I gave Yin Ha-seong concise orders.
[Not to use True Origin Qi, though.]
[Understood.]
As he nodded firmly.
I summoned the assassin to signal him.
'Assassin.'
- Yes, my lord.
'Target Hyeok Ryeon-so's flank.'
The assassin burst from my shadow, charging straight at Hyeok Ryeon-so.
Screeeeeeee!!
Simultaneously, Yin Ha-seong swung his thunder-wreathed sword like a thunderbolt at Hyeok Ryeon-so.
Crackle!
Craaaackle!!
Jang Cheol-han, unaware of the plan, panicked at Yin Ha-seong's sudden all-out suicidal charge and kicked off.
"Hey!"
Their actions drew the guarding demons' full attention.
"Young master, fall back!"
"Block them!!!"
Since realizing his Heavenly Demon Divine Art's long-range palms didn't work on me, Hyeok Ryeon-so's face had been frantic—but now a strange relief settled in.
"Did Ma-nae secretly arrange something without telling me?"
The Bright Right Messenger hadn't arrived yet.
That complacency bred a sliver of carelessness.
The classic mistake of a sheltered young master unused to battles where victory and life hang by a paper-thin margin.
'Now.'
I didn't miss the gap from Hyeok Ryeon-so's complacency and his guards' tension, infusing Blood Tide Technique energy into my Heaven-Splitting internal force.
Humm—
I surged at him at a speed utterly unlike the past dozens of exchanges.
Screeeeech!!!
Hyeok Ryeon-so, reversing to dodge Yin Ha-seong and Jang Cheol-han, couldn't react to the transcending speed.
"!"
Regret tore through the air, slamming into Hyeok Ryeon-so's left chest with a rending sound.
Spluuurt!!!!
Hyeok Ryeon-so wasn't utterly inept.
The instant he took the hit, he erupted Heavenly Demon Divine Art force, hurling his body back to dislodge the embedded Regret.
But it was fatal from the moment it lodged.
Spuuuurt!!!
Blood fountained from his chest like a spring.
"Young master!!!"
At that, Hyeok Ryeon-so's left aide Yang Beom abandoned Gong Son-mu-geol and rushed us.
"Protect the young master!"
Acting the lord, Hyeok Ryeon-so gritted his teeth, maintaining composure.
"...I was wrong. Change the vanguard unit's orders—from assassinating White Path factors to slaughtering Luoyang city and burning one more Murim Alliance building. Aides, escape this place somehow and report mission failure to the Ten Thousand Demon Hall."
"How can you say that! Success or failure, you must report it yourself! The Cult Leader awaits."
"...Maybe? Father would rather I die heroically on mission failure. With things this botched, fulfilling his will is the path to demonic world domination."
"Steel your heart. Their White Hawk and this sudden commotion—clearly reinforcements have arrived for them too."
As I interjected toward the two demons.
"Touching lord-vassal bond, brings tears. I'll help you reunite in the Yellow Springs nicely. Ah... Heavenly Demon Divine Cult goes elsewhere than the Yellow Springs? Where to, you lot?"
Woo So-ryeong's voice called me from the northwest, where the Medicine King Hall lay.
"Brother Eon!!!!"
From his urgent tone, the Bright Right Messenger was hot on his heels.
But it was doable.
No need to fear whoever came now that Hyeok Ryeon-so was in that state.