Chapter 424: The Seven Heavenly Virtues (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 424: The Seven Heavenly Virtues (1)
Lu Bu, who had been watching the situation from a distance, muttered.
“…It’s over.”
He had rushed over with his men as soon as he heard the upper level had been breached.
On his way here, he had intended to ambush the enemy from the rear, turning a crisis into an opportunity.
“There’s no need for that now.”
That was only possible if the front lines were holding strong.
The upper level was being cleared out rapidly.
The Hexagram combatants who had managed the Black Market, along with the Black Market forces that had surrendered to them, fought back fiercely, but it wasn't enough to turn the tide of a battle already lost.
Watching them, Lu Bu clicked his tongue in pity.
‘If they had fought a conventional battle, they wouldn't have been pushed back this far.’
The most critical failure was being caught completely unprepared by a surprise attack they never saw coming.
That’s what made him wonder.
‘Why didn’t the alarms go off?’
The people Lu Bu had seen were no fools.
The ramparts, the barriers, the gates.
They trusted in the defensive power of these structures, but they never over-relied on them.
A one-in-a-million chance was just that—improbable, but not impossible.
That was why they had meticulously maintained an alarm system to signal them when an enemy drew near.
“…Don’t tell me they neutralized that as well.”
There was no other explanation.
It just meant that the attackers had prepared for this ambush with painstaking thoroughness.
“What a shame.”
Tsk, tsk.
Lu Bu clicked his tongue again, watching the Hexagram members being cornered.
If he had helped them and crushed the alliance, he could have completely severed the current government's lifeline.
That was a bit disappointing, but that was all.
It wasn’t as if he had gained nothing from this.
‘Still, at least one headache has been taken care of, so I suppose it’s a gain.’
In exchange for joining hands with them, he had received help in refining ‘Red God's Might.’
The newly created version was not only more addictive with a smaller dose, but it also had the stability to be unaffected by the spell formulas created and distributed in Korea.
If he distributed and sold this across the globe, he would be able to secure far more military funds than he had now.
A faint smile touched Lu Bu’s lips at the thought.
But it was fleeting.
“……”
The moment his eyes landed on a man striding across the upper level, his face froze.
“…Kim Do-jin.”
The very person who had ruined a part of his plans.
Infuriatingly irksome.
His very existence.
So much so that he wanted to leap into the losing battlefield right now and plunge his Bangcheon Halberd into the man’s heart.
It wasn’t just because he had ruined his plan to secure funds.
‘He’s a dangerous one.’
His brief experience witnessing the man’s abilities whispered that to him.
He had arrogantly tried to bind his body.
And he had succeeded.
It was only for an instant, a moment so fleeting that no one else would have noticed.
But his body had definitely stopped.
“……”
That fact instilled a considerable sense of crisis in Lu Bu.
Enough to make him want to trade the lives of all the subordinates he had brought with him for Kim Do-jin’s.
‘It would certainly be a gain. But…’
These men weren’t his prized elites.
They were half-wits who could barely pull their own weight without relying on his drug, their only virtue being their loyalty to him.
Therefore, if he could take Kim Do-jin’s life by sacrificing all of theirs, it would undoubtedly be a net gain.
But the aftermath was the problem.
No matter how much they revered him as a god, how could they firmly trust and follow a commander who treated his subordinates like disposable chess pieces and sent them to their deaths?
If this incident caused a crack in their trust, it would lead to an even greater loss.
So, he decided to take a light shot at his life from here.
“Seongnyeom.”
“Yes, General.”
“Give me a spear.”
“Here you are, General.”
Seongnyeom, one of the Eight Strong Generals who had accompanied him, handed him a spear.
What Lu Bu held in his hand was not his beloved Bangcheon Halberd, but a throwing spear.
A javelin perfected by a master craftsman after hundreds, even thousands of attempts, forged for Lu Bu and Lu Bu alone.
An image flashed in his mind.
The merciless spear of lightning Kim Do-jin had aimed at his beloved steed.
And so, he would repay the favor.
Coincidentally, he too was second to none when it came to throwing a spear.
“Hmph…!”
As he took his stance, a dormant red energy enveloped his entire body.
Soon, a crimson Aura of Strength manifested on the spear.
Crack!
The ground sank under the immense pressure.
From his feet, legs, waist, chest, and to his arm.
The power, flowing as naturally as water, was transferred and amplified through each part of his body.
Fwoosh!
The spear, imbued with immense power, roared as it left his fingertips.
Sharp scales, flowing whiskers, a shimmering body.
The aura cloaking the spear, which flew so fast it seemed to fold space, took the form of a red dragon.
A name given because the sound of a cannon roars when the spear, in the form of a red dragon, pierces its enemy.
Red Dragon Cannon.
The same strike that had once blown away the leader of a flock of monster birds that covered the skies of ancient China was now aimed at a single man.
*
“Keoheok…!”
Thud!
The man in charge of consolidating the Chinese Black Market alongside Agwi collapsed, vomiting blood.
“Whew.”
It hadn’t been an easy fight.
All the organization’s members dispatched to China were A-rank or higher, and the two leaders were S-rank.
I couldn’t help but scowl.
“…What the hell are these guys?”
The fact that they could bind S-ranks with restrictions and treat them like dogs sent a shiver down my spine.
Just how many S-ranks did their organization have to be able to handle them so casually?
The deeper I got involved, the more I began to understand, even if I didn’t want to.
I understood why Han Ju-hee had joined hands with them.
Their ridiculous talk of taking over the world was starting to sound more and more plausible.
Of course, I was certain their plan would never even get close to succeeding.
Why?
Because I was going to stop it.
Whatever it was they were planning.
“I’ll fucking crush them.”
Just as I made that vow and turned to leave.
Kwwaaaang—!
With the sound of something exploding, the barrier surrounding the upper level shattered into pieces.
“What the…?”
I was standing there, bewildered, wondering what was happening.
Suddenly, the back of my neck prickled.
Fwoooosh—!
I could feel it.
A menacing presence tearing through the air, coming right for me.
It was a familiar energy.
“Lu Bu, that son of a bitch.”
With no time to even turn around, I spat out a curse and layered the surrounding mana.
Dozens of shields materialized in an instant.
But it wasn’t enough.
Crash!
K-k-k-k-crack!
When I hastily spun around, I saw a spear wreathed in the form of a red dragon shattering my shields as it approached.
“……!”
It was too late to dodge.
This wasn’t an attack that could be avoided by simply moving my head.
It seemed he was dead set on killing me.
Blocking it didn't look easy either.
If only I had a little more time.
No, if only I had a sword in my hand…!
Just as I was struggling to suppress the helpless urgency rising within me and desperately search for a way to save myself…
“Hup…!”
Something suddenly shot out in front of me, blocking my view.
What I saw was a shield large enough to completely cover a person.
But it was different.
The color of the hair.
Instead of long blonde locks, what fluttered before my eyes was short, black hair.
Before I could even open my mouth to speak her name, recognizing that all-too-familiar back—
KWAAAAAANNNNNG—!
The spear Lu Bu had thrown with all his might slammed into the giant shield, unleashing a deafening roar.
It was only then that my voice escaped my lips.
“Son Seo-yeon!”
The person who had blocked my path, holding a comrade’s giant shield, was none other than Son Seo-yeon.
My daughter.
The head I had painstakingly cooled began to burn hot again.
Lu Bu, Lu Bu, Lu Bu.
That son of a bitch… that animal I could chew up, bones and all, and still not be satisfied…!
But that too was brief.
“Ugh…!”
My daughter’s faint groan, heard amidst the continuous explosions, quelled my fury.
This was no time for that.
To survive, both Seo-yeon and I had to make perfect use of the time we were given.
I didn’t know.
I didn’t know how Seo-yeon, who was still far from strong enough, was still on her feet after blocking his attack.
All I could do was grit my teeth and shout at her.
“Just hold on a little longer…!”
“Hnngh…, ungh…!”
Feeling a heart-wrenching pain at her response, which was more of a pained groan than an answer, I gathered my mana.
[Activating the Domain of the Ruler.]
I manifested my will.
The power to protect myself and my daughter.
The power to protect all that I held dear.
I layered it over the shield Seo-yeon was holding.
「Aegis.」
With the short incantation, the manifested mana formed a barrier in front of Seo-yeon, blocking the attack.
KWAAAAANG!
The remnants of the red dragon, which had been roaring in a final, desperate struggle, began to fade.
Clatter!
Finally, the spear fell powerlessly to the ground.
As if confirming this, Seo-yeon lowered the shield from her hand, letting her arm drop limply as she turned around.
Her face was deathly pale.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
It was obvious her condition was terrible.
“Are… you okay…?”
She was asking me if I was okay.
Me, who was completely uninjured, only drained of mana.
What was I supposed to say?
Thank you for saving me?
I’m alive thanks to you?
Dozens of phrases to praise her actions came to mind.
“Why the hell did you do that? What if you had died…?!”
But I pushed all those words deep into my chest and scolded her instead.
And then, she smiled.
As if to say, ‘That’s just like you,’ or ‘I knew you would.’
“You taught me, didn’t you…? That protecting each other… is what comrades do.”
“……”
“This time… I protected…”
Without finishing her sentence, Seo-yeon’s eyes slid shut and she began to collapse.
I rushed forward, grabbing her shoulders to support her as I checked her condition.
Shallow breaths, a faint pulse.
I didn’t know what it was, but her body was burning like a furnace from overexerting her power.
Ten to one, her insides were a complete wreck.
It’s okay.
She’ll be okay.
Because the Saintess was nearby.
“Quickly, to the Saintess…!”
If I can just get her to the Saintess…
Just as I was about to move.
“Seo-yeon!”
A sharp, scream-like voice from the sky pierced my ears.
It was her.
Han Ju-hee landed swiftly and snatched Seo-yeon from my arms as if stealing her away.
Simultaneously, her arm swung.
Smack—!
A stinging pain flared on my cheek.
At the same time, a gaze thick with resentment was fixed on me.
Her expression said she had a million things to say.
But without uttering a single word…
Swoosh!
She was gone.
Holding her daughter in her arms.