Chapter 122: Walking through the Blood Mist (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 122: Walking through the Blood Mist (3)
‘There’s no other way.’
My internal energy from the Circulating Dantian was completely depleted after unleashing the Scattering Light Red Sun Flash and the Whirling Wind Overturning Heaven in succession.
I needed time for my energy to recover.
But time was a luxury I didn't have.
Wi Se-gun, seemingly convinced I was helpless, spoke with a smirk playing on his lips.
“You’ve caused us significant losses, but if I don’t kill you now, the damage will only grow. This much sacrifice is acceptable to see you dead.”
I looked back, searching for someone to save me.
However, everyone was preoccupied, locked in desperate combat with the experts of the Divine Light Sect.
“How is that possible?!”
A strange sight caught my eye. Danyeong was holding her own in a fierce exchange with a Divine Light Sect expert.
I had thought she was just a fragile girl all this time; I felt completely deceived.
‘I suppose being the child of a military commander makes her different.’
That was the only way I could rationalize it. Even so, I never expected her to possess martial prowess equal to an expert of the Divine Light Sect.
As the bastard strode toward me, I considered using the poison from the Golden Qi-Poisoning Bracelet as a last resort.
If even that failed, I was destined to sit and wait for death.
I waited for him to get close before unleashing the Draw Sword Instant Kill of the Explosive Sword Style.
He came to a dead halt as the Explosive Sword Style struck him.
Oh? Is it working? My heart hammered against my ribs.
I waited with bated breath, hoping to see blood erupt from his nose.
But instead of blood, a sigh escaped him as he spoke.
“What kind of trick is this? How did you stop my body from moving? Is it poison?”
What a monster! How could the poison of the Golden Qi-Poisoning Bracelet only paralyze him for a moment? Had he mastered some special mental cultivation method?
They say if you're destined to die, you'll drown in a saucer of water. Nothing was going my way.
I had truly met my match today.
The man approaching me radiated the stench of death. I had to make a decision.
‘Let’s run for now.’
For the first time in a long while, I tapped into my Weakling Mentality.
Dragging my trembling legs, I ducked into a small crevice in the canyon wall.
The entrance had seemed wide enough when I went in, but the passage narrowed as I went deeper. Soon, there was barely enough space for my body to fit, making movement difficult.
“Dammit, Heaven has abandoned me!”
I had entered believing there would be an exit, but I had run straight into a dead end.
‘Is this where my luck ends?’
Of all the places to flee, how could it be a blind alley?
I turned back toward him, gripping my Ghost Sword.
“Why? Why stop running?”
Wi Se-gun grinned at me.
“Shouldn't you be wondering why I lured you here? Did you really think I ran away because I was afraid of you?”
I babbled whatever came to mind, trying to buy as much time as possible.
My words made him flinch momentarily.
However, after scanning the surroundings and finding no other threats, Wi Se-gun sneered.
“And what do you plan to do about it? If you have a trick, let’s see it. Do it now so you don’t have regrets in the afterlife.”
He said this because he was well aware of my physical condition. He knew I was at the end of my rope.
“Fine. I’ll hold you to that.”
I mentally clapped my hands the moment those words left his mouth.
I decided to stake my hope on that arrogance.
I glanced briefly above his head and hurled the Ghost Sword at him.
‘This has to work. If it doesn't, I’m burying my bones here today.’
As the Ghost Sword flew, he swatted it away as if it were a mere nuisance.
I used that opening to flick my wrist, manipulating the sword. The Ghost Sword soared into the air, flying toward a boulder protruding from the cliffside.
The boulder was precariously balanced, held up only by a small supporting stone beneath it.
I had thrown the Ghost Sword to dislodge that support.
Throwing it at Wi Se-gun first was merely a feint to hide my true intention.
The Ghost Sword struck the supporting stone beneath the boulder.
The precariously placed rock wobbled.
However, it only shook; it showed no sign of falling.
I summoned the Ghost Sword back to my hand and unleashed the Snow Pellet Art toward the supporting stone.
Thwack!
The stone support shattered under the impact of the Snow Pellet Art, and the boulder swayed as if it were about to plummet.
But Wi Se-gun, who had been watching my antics, looked up and muttered.
“Absurd. Do you really think I’ll be crushed to death by a rock like that? Do you think I’ll just stand here and take it when all I have to do is take one step to avoid it?”
I smirked at his words.
Seeing my smile, he momentarily stiffened. Just as he realized something and tried to kick off the ground to use a lightness skill—
I had already gathered my remaining internal energy and injected it into the Golden Qi-Poisoning Bracelet.
“Explosive Sword Style!”
I shouted the name of my martial art for the first time as I drew my blade.
Just as he was about to leap, the poison from the Golden Qi-Poisoning Bracelet took hold. He collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
Thud!
The paralysis would only last for about two breaths, so the boulder had to fall before then.
He lay flat on his back, staring at the sky.
I repeatedly fired the Snow Pellet Art at the remaining fragments of the stone supporting the boulder.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
As I poured the last of my internal energy into the Snow Pellet Art, the support gave way, and the boulder lurched.
At that moment, Wi Se-gun’s body twitched, showing signs of breaking free from the paralysis.
But the boulder was already falling.
“No! No!”
Just as he regained enough movement to plant his hands on the ground, the boulder crashed down onto his lower body.
BOOM!
The sound of the rock hitting the ground was immediately followed by a human scream.
“AAAAAAARGH!”
With his lower half completely crushed beneath the boulder, Wi Se-gun’s head slumped, unable to endure the agony.
I wanted to collapse and rest, but I couldn't. I thought of the Blood Wind Squad, who were likely still locked in a life-and-death struggle against the Divine Light Sect experts.
I swung the Ghost Sword down on Wi Se-gun’s neck.
With his eyes still wide with shock, his head was severed from his body.
As I emerged from the crevice holding his head, Xing Youzheng came running toward me, drenched in blood.
“My Lord! Are you alright?!”
To my eyes, Xing Youzheng looked to be in much worse shape than I was.
Yet, seeing the concern in his eyes made me feel like I might burst into tears.
Xing Youzheng saw me holding Wi Se-gun’s head and roared.
“Look here! Your leader is dead! Surrender now!”
Xing Youzheng thought that showing Wi Se-gun’s head would break the morale of the Divine Light Sect experts.
But that wasn't my intention. I had taken the head as evidence to inform the Murim Alliance of the Divine Light Sect’s existence.
Xing Youzheng was still naive enough to think such a threat would make them surrender.
‘Sigh, they’re only going to fight harder now.’
Just as I expected, the moment they saw Wi Se-gun’s head, they screamed.
“Avenge the death of the Six Villains!”
As they threw themselves into the fray with suicidal desperation, even Igaryeo and Jeok Yeong were pushed back.
Just as I feared we might all perish in their desperate final charge, a thunderous shout echoed from deep within the canyon.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
Hearing that sound, I muttered to myself.
“Dammit, took you long enough. Why are you so late? We almost died.”
Xing Youzheng asked, “Who are they?”
The figures charging in on horseback while shouting began to come into view.
“Ah! It’s the government troops!”
It had to be.
Owoong had been instructed to find the Ancient Wood Valley experts lurking nearby, while a military officer had been ordered to bring the government troops here as quickly as possible, anticipating an enemy ambush.
Even if there had been no attackers, they were coming to receive the Commander Do's daughter, so there was no fault to be found with the government troops' actions.
As more than two hundred soldiers rode into the canyon, the Divine Light Sect experts retreated.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
When the enemies didn't flee immediately, the soldiers loosed a volley of arrows as they charged.
I had told the officer to bring troops primarily composed of archers, knowing that government soldiers alone would struggle against such experts.
No matter how skilled a martial artist is, they cannot dodge every arrow; a mass of archers was a formidable threat.
Under the relentless barrage of arrows, the Divine Light Sect experts had no choice but to retreat.
“Withdraw!”
Once the enemies vanished, those who had been fighting collapsed to the ground to catch their breath, while some immediately entered a state of energy guiding technique.
It showed just how depleted their internal energy had been during the fight.
They were truly, terrifyingly strong.
‘I never want to face those bastards again.’
As I sat on the ground resting, the Blood Wind Squad approached.
“Are you alright, Unit Leader?”
Poison Wolf Ibu spoke to me, blood streaming from wounds on his flank and shoulder.
“I think I should be the one asking you that.”
The Blood Wind Squad had not escaped unscathed.
Two of the Seven Heroes had fallen in this battle.
The remaining members of the Seven Heroes stood with their heads bowed before their two fallen brothers.
Then again, considering only four of the ten legendary Ice Soul Divine Martial Team members had survived, the losses of our Blood Wind Squad could be considered minimal.
Danyeong also wore a somber expression.
Only one of her bodyguards had survived, and only five of the twenty-odd military officers were still alive.
If the reinforcements hadn't arrived, we would have faced total annihilation.
Ancient Wood Valley suffered even greater losses.
Of the thirty-odd experts from Ancient Wood Valley, barely ten remained.
I spoke to the Seven Heroes.
“I’m sorry. I couldn't protect them.”
When I spoke with genuine remorse, the leader of the Seven Heroes shook his head.
“No, sir. If anything, we are the ones who are sorry. These two died trying to protect us. It happened because we were weak. We thought we had become strong enough to protect our Lord... but they had to meet their end here without even being able to stand by your side.”
The Seven Heroes wept bitter tears of resentment and self-reproach.
“Seven Heroes, we are warriors. We are warriors who have no right to complain whenever or wherever we might die. Don't send your brothers off with tears; send them off with the respect due to a warrior.”
At my words, the leader stood up.
“My Lord is right. We momentarily forgot. Everyone, stand up.”
As the Seven Heroes stood and looked at me, I stepped before the bodies of the two brothers.
“I, Eo Ja-seo, will never forget these brothers who were part of the Seven Heroes and my own warriors. Rest in peace.”
As I gave a fist-and-palm salute, the Blood Wind Squad gathered around and joined me in the salute.
My heart ached. Now that these once-troublesome rascals were dead, a corner of my heart felt so hollow that I had to close my eyes and look toward the sky.
Without realizing it, I had grown fond of them despite our rocky start.
‘You worked hard for me. Farewell.’
*
“What brings you here?”
Deputy Bu had been busy every day since Eo Ja-seo’s departure. There were countless things requiring his attention.
Then, about fifteen days after Eo Ja-seo’s group had left, a man and a woman came looking for them.
He met them because they said they were searching for Eo Ja-seo’s party, and the aura the two radiated was far from ordinary.
“We came after hearing that someone known as the Yellow Dragon Secret Sword was at the Nine Demons Chamber.”
“Are you referring to Young Hero Jeok?”
“His name is Jeok Yeong.”
“Then it is indeed the Yellow Dragon Secret Sword, Young Hero Jeok.”
Deputy Bu observed the pair closely. The woman was a beauty with a haughty air, while the man possessed a domineering pressure.
As the woman began to describe the appearance of the man named Jeok Yeong, it matched the Young Hero Jeok that Deputy Bu knew perfectly.
“Do you know where Jeok Yeong went?”
“It certainly seems the person you are describing is Young Hero Jeok. But what is your relationship with him?”
He asked because he needed to know their identity.
If they were Jeok Yeong’s enemies, he couldn't reveal his whereabouts.
The woman looked at Deputy Bu before speaking.
“The Yellow Dragon Secret Sword is my Senior Brother.”
“What?”
Deputy Bu was startled and looked at the woman with new eyes.
Now that he thought about it, the temperaments of the woman and the man felt somewhat similar to Jeok Yeong’s.
Since disciples of the same sect learn the same martial arts, they naturally radiate a similar aura.
“After my Senior Brother entered the Murim, he sent word regularly, but the messages stopped a few months ago. So, our Master sent us to find him. The last place he contacted us from was the New Dragon region, and when we investigated there, we heard of someone similar to my Senior Brother being active. We followed the trail all the way here.”
Hearing the story, the timing of Jeok Yeong’s memory loss matched up, and there was no reason to doubt they were his fellow disciples.
“Young Hero Jeok lost his memory while fighting the Blood Lama.”
“Ah!”
The man and woman gasped at the news.
But soon, their dark expressions brightened.
They had been worried that something terrible had happened since Jeok Yeong hadn't contacted the sect or returned.
“So that’s what happened.”
“But where did he go in that state?”
At the woman’s question, Deputy Bu replied slowly.
“He followed his sworn brother. Young Hero Jeok’s sworn brother is the New Dragon of Sichuan, Eo Ja-seo, who is affiliated with Ten Thousand Dragons Fortress in Junggang. If you go there, you should be able to find him.”
A soft smile graced the woman’s face.
Hearing the full story finally put her mind at ease.
“By the way, may I ask your names?”
Deputy Bu felt he should at least know their names to be certain. He didn't want to realize later that he had given information to the wrong people.
“I am Juseol.”
“I am Beom Yu.”
Hearing their names, Deputy Bu thought to himself.
‘Hmm, it seems they haven't made a name for themselves in the Murim yet. I’ve never heard those names before. But if they are disciples of the same sect as Young Hero Jeok, they must have mastered incredible martial arts.’
As Deputy Bu watched them depart, he suddenly realized he hadn't asked about Jeok Yeong’s sect.
He had been so captivated by their aura that he had simply forgotten.
‘Still, seeing as there was no wicked energy about them, they don't seem to be from the Unorthodox factions.’
Feeling relieved, Deputy Bu turned and walked back.