Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Escape 2
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Footsteps echoed as a striking young woman in her early twenties, spear in hand, appeared in the cavern leading a dozen or so warriors.
Spotting Dang Yak-ran locked in the thunder prison cell, the woman cried out in shock.
"Captain!"
She was Ak So-bong of the Shandong Yue Clan, renowned alongside the Divine Spear Yang Clan as one of the two great spear families of the jianghu.
She served as deputy captain under Dang Yak-ran in the First Squad. The Black Ghost Heavy Armor Corps included quite a few promising disciples from prestigious righteous sects, assigned there by their masters to gain real combat experience.
Ak So-bong was one such disciple. Being a woman, and having long admired Dang Yak-ran, she had volunteered to join the First Squad herself.
"Go fetch the Iron-Cutting Saw right now."
Ak So-bong ordered one of her subordinates, who dashed off without hesitation. She turned back to Dang Yak-ran and asked,
"How did you get in here? How did they escape? What on earth happened?"
"What happened to the Demonic Cultists?"
"We lost them. That wild man from the mountains led the escaped Demonic Cultists out of the thunder prison, but I've never seen such a monstrous brute in my life."
"A brute?"
"You know how there are half-collapsed buildings all over the Heavenly Demon Palace. He was picking up half-burnt pillar bases and foundation stones, whatever he could grab, and hurling them everywhere. It was like building debris raining down from the sky."
"And then?"
"We couldn't get close enough to do anything. Even with three hundred fully armored troops from the Black Ghost Heavy Armor Corps surrounding them, he just broke through."
"Any casualties?"
"Dozens of horses got crushed or killed by the flying pillars and rocks. Probably several times that many with broken legs. But luckily, no people died."
He had thrown the pillars and stones deliberately to avoid direct clashes. Any martial artist could dodge them easily.
It was a move that blocked approaches while securing an escape route.
But bending iron bars aside, hurling pillars and foundation stones—where was that superhuman strength coming from?
The Heuk Do-san she knew definitely wasn't capable of such feats.
Come to think of it, his face had looked off too.
At first, she wondered if it was a human-skin mask and examined it closely. The Tang Clan of Sichuan had countless methods for crafting them, and she herself was well-versed in the art.
But he wasn't wearing one. And yet, it was unmistakably Heuk Do-san. There was only one possibility in such a case.
'Shedding the bones and emerging anew...!'
Something must have happened in that snow mountain cave.
"So where are they headed now?"
"Surprisingly, they're climbing down the cliffs behind the rear garden toward the Cang River. Six squads of the Black Ghost Heavy Armor Corps are rushing to the Cang River in full armor to lay an inescapable net. Catching them is just a matter of time. Don't worry too much."
Ak So-bong was visibly excited.
The Great Righteous-Demonic War had broken out when she was ten. It ended when she was seventeen.
She had been too young at the war's start, and now, just as she hoped to make her mark as a scion of the Shandong Yue Clan, it was over.
Today's incident was her first taste of a large-scale operation. No wonder she was thrilled.
"What about the Grand Commander?"
"Still haven't found him. Four squads are combing through the Heavenly Demon Palace like it's theirs, but whether he flew to the heavens or sank into the earth, we can't spot him anywhere. All the ruins are slowing them down. I hope nothing's happened to him."
That figured.
Just before coming here, Heuk Do-san had sealed Seop Dae-gang's pulse and acupoints in preparation for his awakening, then hidden him under a collapsed section of the roof in the Spear Dragon Hall.
It was to split the Black Ghost Heavy Armor Corps' forces between those chasing him and those searching for Seop Dae-gang.
His plan had worked perfectly: six hundred were pursuing Heuk Do-san, four hundred hunting Seop Dae-gang.
One simple move had halved the troops focused on him and the Demonic Cultists.
On top of that, he had chosen to escape via the cliffs everyone assumed were impassable.
If he had led the fifty-odd Demonic Cultists toward the training grounds, they would have been annihilated before even leaving the Heavenly Demon Palace.
He must have known about that cliff path from the start—the secret route the Righteous Alliance had used in their old raid on the Heavenly Demon Palace. How had he found out about it?
Either way, this was Heuk Do-san.
But now that their position was known, with six hundred Black Ghost Heavy Armor Corps troops spreading an inescapable net along the Cang River, even he couldn't slip away.
"So-bong."
"Yes?"
"Do you trust me?"
"What kind of question is that? If I don't trust you, who should I? You know why I chose the First Squad—it's all because of you."
"Then will you help me?"
"Of course."
"It might go against the Black Ghost Heavy Armor Corps' current operation. Would you still help?"
"......?"
"If you don't want to, that's fine. This isn't an order—it's a request."
"Is it the righteous thing to do?"
"I don't know that either."
Ak So-bong hesitated, rolling her eyes for a moment. Then, with utmost seriousness, she said,
"Okay. I'll do it."
"Why do you follow me like this?"
"Because if you're doing it, there must be a good reason."
Dang Yak-ran chuckled softly.
She didn't know why, but she had long known the girl idolized her. It was a simple, blind faith—and all the more reliable for it.
"I need a few more people."
"Trustworthy ones, I assume?"
"Yeah."
"Ten enough?"
"Plenty."
"I'll get them ready."
* * *
Leading fifty-odd Demonic Cultists down a cliff was no simple task.
First, the Demonic Cultists had spent years locked in the thunder prison, their muscles and bones atrophied to the extreme.
Second, weathering over the years had altered the cliff path Heuk Do-san had once blazed.
But there were fortunate points too.
First, though their bodies were weak, all the survivors were masters, allowing them to use wall-clinging techniques.
Second, it was night, minimizing the shock of sudden light to their eyes.
Third, the darkness also hid their exact position from the enemy.
Above all, the Demonic Cultists' fierce determination for freedom turned all obstacles into trifles.
But one person was too frail for even determination to help, her skills too meager.
A large rock tumbled down from high above with a thud. Someone at the rear had slipped.
A sharp cry followed as a figure plummeted at terrifying speed.
"The Saintess is falling!"
Heuk Do-san, leading from the front, quickly jammed his steel staff into a cliff crevice for support.
He thrust out one hand and caught Bing-seol by the waist as she fell. The heavy impact bent the steel staff as if it might snap.
Rocks showered from the crevice where the staff was wedged, nearly dislodging the whole thing.
By some miracle, it held.
"You okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine."
The burly man from the Sword Hall, descending right behind Heuk Do-san, shouted upward.
"The Saintess is safe!"
"Hooray!"
Even under moonlight, the cliff was pitch black, and with fifty-odd people in a line, those above couldn't see what happened below without shouts.
"Can you keep going?"
"I'll try."
Her face showed no confidence. Given her frailty and weak skills, it was a miracle she'd made it this far.
She had only descended about ten-odd zhang from the rear, but that made it riskier.
They still had over a hundred zhang to go.
Worse, Bing-seol's legs were trembling. Her arms around his waist had no strength left.
If she clung to the cliff like this, she'd fall for sure.
Heuk Do-san looked up at the burly man descending right above.
Despite his skinny frame like a giant tadpole, his build was no joke—he was carrying Gong Cheon-ak on his back.
In terms of martial arts, Gong Cheon-ak was the strongest among them.
But compared to the others, who had some limb mobility, Gong Cheon-ak had hung bound in iron chains for three years.
His muscles, from shoulders to limbs, were likely torn to shreds. Without help, he couldn't move a step.
"You there—what's your name?"
"Bang Cheol-san."
"Can you hold the Saintess for a sec?"
"I'll do it."
Bang Cheol-san wedged one hand into a crevice and extended the other.
Heuk Do-san turned to Bing-seol.
"Hang onto his hand for a bit."
"What are you planning?"
"Just do it."
Heuk Do-san tossed Bing-seol upward.
As she rose six or seven zhang, Bang Cheol-san snatched her.
Now free, Heuk Do-san flipped using the momentum and landed lightly atop the steel staff.
Then, to their astonishment, he started taking off his pants.
Bang Cheol-san and Bing-seol stared in shock.
Down to his undergarments, Heuk Do-san said,
"Now toss her."
"Huh?"
"Throw the Saintess."
"Understood."
No time for second thoughts. Bang Cheol-san let go, and Bing-seol dropped straight down.
Heuk Do-san, standing on the steel staff, caught her again. He hoisted her onto his back and bound them tightly with his trouser legs.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he resumed descending the cliff.
'Using his pants as a rope...'
Bang Cheol-san gaped at Heuk Do-san improvising with whatever was at hand.
Bing-seol said,
"I'm always just baggage."
"Exactly."
"Sorry."
"Find time to train some martial arts."
"Thanks."
"Don't thank me. Like I always say, nothing's free in this world. You'll pay me back somehow—remember that."
Heuk Do-san picked up the pace down the cliff. Sensing this was their last chance, the others behind poured in their all.
About halfway down, disaster struck. In the darkness ahead and below, a horde of men and horses approached with torches lit.
They spread out widely along the reed beds across the river. Easily five or six hundred strong.
"Black Ghost Heavy Armor Corps."
Bang Cheol-san said.
The Demonic Cultists clinging to the cliff began murmuring. They still had over fifty zhang to descend, but the enemy had already formed ranks across the river. Escape was impossible.
Then, dozens of flares shot up from the opposite bank toward the cliff.
Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The area lit up like daylight, exposing the Demonic Cultists lined single-file on the cliff.
As the flare flames faded, the cliff plunged back into darkness. But now the real onslaught began.
The five or six hundred torches suddenly multiplied like hatching eggs, surging to over a thousand in an instant.
'Fire arrows!'
They had pinpointed the position—now they would rain fire arrows on the cliff to wipe them out.
The cliff air froze in dread.
An eternity seemed to pass in silence. Then Heuk Do-san looked up the cliff and said,
"Listen up from now on. The Cang River flows fifty-odd zhang below. It's winter now—the dry season—so it'll either be nearly dry or frozen solid."
"What do you mean?"
Bang Cheol-san asked urgently.
"Everyone jumps from here. Kick off the cliff hard to avoid smashing your head on rocks. Survivors swim south, no exceptions. Keep your body as submerged as possible. That's it."
No sooner had he finished than hundreds of fire arrows whistled through the darkness from across the river.