Total War in Hanan
More than a hundred iron steeds had surged south out of Xining, and at last they reached the border of Qinghai’s Hanan region.
But the place before them was no longer the green plain they knew. The Blood Cult’s vile spawn had gone so far as to manifest Manhon Yeon-ok upon the earth itself. The sky had turned a murky, blood-red color, and the land had twisted and split open under the weight of corrupted earth veins, reeking like rotting beasts. It was nothing less than a horrifying, arrogant spell—an alien hell forcibly laid over the pure soil of Zhongyuan.
As soon as they crossed the boundary where the purgatory had descended, they found hundreds of Blood Gang corpses already standing in formation alongside the Mu-hyeon-gok bastards.
The hundred special operations riders on their Suguta machines charged straight in, raising their reserve spears and crushing through the front line of Mu-hyeon-gok as though they were nothing more than brittle weeds.
And the special unit was not the only force on the field. The warriors of the Red-Front Association swung their weapons with savage force, while Cheol-ya drove deeper and deeper toward the heart of the battlefield, kicking up dust behind his Suguta as he followed the pounding of his heart.
Just as the Blood Cult’s horde was being swept away like fallen leaves, a column of blood-red mist rose from the depths of the purgatory, coiling upward like a giant serpent.
“You arrogant, foolish dogs of Zhongyuan have truly crawled in here to hurry your own deaths.”
The blood mist split apart, and an elder of Mu-hyeon-gok—a gaunt, skin-and-bones old man named Hwan Hae-ma—floated into the air, his cold eyes flashing.
He stretched out his skeletal hands and formed seals. At once, the pooled blood on the ground turned into sharp spearheads that shot up beneath the feet of the Suguta unit.
Clang—! Ching!
The blood spears hammered wildly against the steel armor of the Suguta riders. As the formation of purgatory arrayed by the elder came crashing down on them, the once-unfettered charge of the hundred iron steeds twisted in an instant and lost all momentum.
And in that very moment, Cheol-ya’s own Suguta, which had been pressing forward while cutting down the enemy’s throats, lurched and toppled. Lying there, he clutched at his heart and drew ragged breaths with difficulty.
The black blood qi that had spread outward from his heart constricted his entire body like a serpent. His vision was stained in dark red, and the thread of reason felt as though it might snap any second.
Hwan Hae-ma’s lips curled into a grotesque smile, not wasting the opportunity. He violently twisted his dry hands, and a massive blood-red bramble burst up through the earth and shot straight for Cheol-ya’s heart.
But Cheol-ya was in no condition to even properly unfold his footwork, let alone rein in the raging energy.
“You bastard! Enough of your tricks!”
Hong San kicked off the air and flew up, condensing a sphere of strong qi in his fingertips before hurling it forward.
BOOM!
The blood-colored bramble collided with the qi sphere and shattered into powder with a thunderous explosion, scattering through the air.
In the aftermath, Cheol-ya vomited a mouthful of dark red blood. Hong San had blocked the thicket, but the black blood qi’s frenzy, determined to tear apart his veins, had reached its limit.
And then, right at that moment—
A warm, refreshing current began running through Cheol-ya’s blood vessels from a small glass vial tucked inside his robes.
This was... Ah. The scent Yeonhwa had given him. It felt as if Jangro Suksu’s internal energy were correcting the deviation in his qi, and beside it, a tiny current seemed to be watching over him.
Cheol-ya opened his eyes. The red curtain that had covered his vision was gone. Leaning on the hilt of Heukryongdo, he slowly pushed himself upright.
“You think you can tame black blood qi? That sacred energy you should be worshipping?”
Hwan Hae-ma ground his teeth.
From the start, the battle had already been tilted against them. There was a scout investigator of Hwa-gyeong power on the enemy side, and iron steed cavalry to oppose the Blood Gang corpses whose blood vessels had hardened, leaving them poorly suited to fast combat.
On top of that, that bastard Cheol-ya was trying to control black blood qi. He didn’t know what kind of mysterious trick he’d used, but it was clear he had some way of resisting it. This was not the sort of strength to waste in a place like this. They had chased the enemy all the way to Hanan following the purgatory’s influence, but if they could shake them here instead, it might draw their eyes away from the Blood Cult’s true work.
“Just you wait. The day the gates of purgatory stand wide open, the day Zhongyuan and Yeon-ok become one, I’ll fill all of Zhongyuan with blood!”
He flung blood into the air as he formed hand seals.
Leaving behind that ghastly curse, the elder’s body slid away like a serpent into the thick red mist and vanished.
Once the elder disappeared, the purgatory array loosened and the blood-red fog began to disperse.
“The enemy commander has retreated! Break through the center and wipe out the remaining bastards!”
Hong San shouted as he gripped the Suguta’s handlebars. The hundred iron steeds swept through the red mist, cutting down the Blood Gang corpses and Mu-hyeon-gok fiends as they fled.
The sky of Manhon Yeon-ok, which had been gnawing at Hanan, cleared at last, revealing the blue morning heavens beyond.
Cheol-ya shook the blood from his blade and sheathed his sword.
The Red-Front Association also gathered up their weapons one by one.
“Though we let one of the enemy’s leaders escape, we have cut off the seed of disaster that was about to fall upon Zhongyuan! This is the Orthodox-Unorthodox Coalition Headquarters’ victory! All forces, turn the iron steeds north! A hearty meal awaits us!”
At Hong San’s shout, the exhausted warriors let out cheers.
“Waaah—!”
The hundred-odd Suguta riders started their engines once more and began rumbling north, toward the warmth of the hearth at Mugung Hyeoptak.
---
By the time the sun had climbed high overhead, the front of Mugung Hyeoptak had grown increasingly noisy with the sound of returning riders shaking the ground of Xining.
Yeonhwa, who had been guarding the stove, opened the inn door. The warriors, covered in blood and dust, had lined up their Suguta machines neatly in the courtyard and were gathered in a row at the front.
“Master! You’re back! I’ll get the hotpot boiling right away!”
With Yeonhwa’s call, the inn instantly filled with boisterous energy as the warriors entered. The men who had come from a blood-soaked battlefield collapsed one after another into their chairs as if they could no longer keep themselves upright.
Cheol-ya, too, dropped into a table at the corner and let out a long breath. Yeonhwa carefully set a bowl of spicy hotpot loaded with meat, along with a towel dampened in warm water, down in front of him.
“You worked hard. You’re not injured... are you?”
Cheol-ya roughly wiped away the blood on his face with the wet towel. In the past, he would have picked up his chopsticks in silence, but this time he paused and stared at Yeonhwa’s face.
“Yeonhwa. Next time, put twice as much meat in the hyeop-hyeop bread.”
“...Huh? Ah, yes! Understood. More meat.”
“And also.”
Cheol-ya’s lips curved into the faintest trace of a smile.
“Did you poison this hotpot broth or something? My heart’s been pounding on its own ever since I drank it, and I can barely hold my sword.”
Yeonhwa’s eyes went wide. Her pale cheeks flared red as the flames in the stove.
“P-poison? I only added a little extra chili oil!”
Yeonhwa whipped her head away and fled back into the kitchen with quick little steps. W-what was he even saying? Could it be, maybe, that Cheol-ya also—no, there was no way, right?
Cheol-ya gave a low snort at the sight of her crimson ears and retreating back. Did she really not know, or was she just pretending not to know? You were the only one who had ever seen the loneliness in my heart.
Yeonhwa peeked out from the kitchen to bicker with Cheol-ya, and Yu Cheong-ran, sitting alone at the table opposite while tilting back a bottle of Mo-ri-Wit-o, quietly watched the scene unfold.
The two of them, unable to hide their feelings like children, squabbled back and forth. A bitter yet tender smile touched Yu Cheong-ran’s lips. It was because the long-ago memory of Lee Do-cheong—the sorrowful love she had once been unable to fully share because of circumstances beyond her control—rose hazily with the warmth of the alcohol.
Just as that romantic silence seemed ready to wrap around the inn—
Bang!
The inn door flew open with a thunderous crash, shattering the mood. A man in luxurious silk robes embroidered with the pattern of the Sichuan Tang Clan strode in. Yet for all his extravagant dress, there was an unmistakable bright red female handprint on his left cheek, stamped there like a medal of shame.
“Ice—no, anything cold at all would do, even chilled meat! Could someone please give me something to press against my cheek? I am Tang Mu-gi of the great Tang Clan, and I always repay any kindness!”
He marched boldly into the center of the inn, and the moment he spotted the flustered Yeonhwa, his eyes lit up as he hurried over.
“Oh, what a lovely young miss we have here. Miss... your cheek must hurt, but as a physician I must fulfill my duty. Allow me to take your wrist pulse free of charge, and with this pretty, soft hand...”
Whoosh!
Thwack!
“Kyaaa!”
A huge, thick radish came flying from the kitchen and struck Tang Mu-gi squarely on the back of the head.
“What kind of half-baked quack comes in here and puts his hands on our kid? I’ll slice your nerves to ribbons and fry them in chili oil, so you’d best behave and stay in the corner!”
Jangro Suksu was glaring at Tang Mu-gi with eyes wide and blazing.
Watching Tang Mu-gi clutch the back of his head and grumble in wounded indignation, Yeonhwa pressed two fingers to her brow.
Great. Another weird one had been added to the roster. Should she call this fate? Because honestly, she really hated this kind of fate.
And yet, at the foolish brightness in Tang Mu-gi’s eyes as he kept sneaking glances her way, Yeonhwa grimaced in disgust. What kind of man openly drools over women like that? Seriously, gross—
The tension from the battlefield was gone before anyone realized it. The hot, spicy scent of the boiling stew and the warriors’ hearty laughter once again warmed Mugung Hyeoptak’s morning into a noisy, bustling din.
---