Chapter 119
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: The Probing Raid
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Two days had passed since the Black Refinement Sect had set up camp in front of the Taegok Branch Hall.
In that time, five more unorthodox sects had arrived besides the Black Iron Sect, bringing their total numbers to over two thousand.
Their momentum already pierced the heavens.
Bok Yeo-wol muttered while gazing at the Taegok Branch Hall.
“Strange. There’s hardly any movement at all.”
Their forces grew stronger by the hour, yet the Taegok Branch Hall remained eerily quiet.
‘Are they waiting for reinforcements from the Shanxi Sword Sect?’
If so, it was a futile effort.
They had already received word that three unorthodox sects had blocked all the paths from the Shanxi Sword Sect to the Taegok Branch Hall.
‘That North Heaven Dragon can’t possibly stay still like this.’
“Definitely strange, right?”
Bok Yeo-wol flinched and turned his head. The Bloodlight Sword Marshal stood there with his hands behind his back, having approached unnoticed.
‘Damn it, at least make some noise when you move!’
Hiding his inner thoughts, he bowed his head.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Skip the formalities. Weren’t you thinking the same thing as me?”
“Yes.”
The Bloodlight Sword Marshal narrowed his eyes and stared at the Taegok Branch Hall.
“They’re not the type to stay quiet. They’re definitely plotting something.”
“…….”
“Leaving it be feels off. We need to test them.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“Hm.”
After a moment of contemplation, the Bloodlight Sword Marshal issued an order.
“Summon the Black Iron Sect Leader and the Poison Spider Valley Lord.”
“……!”
* * *
That night, past midnight.
Around four hundred warriors moved silently, suppressing their presence.
Their fluid movements and weapons marked them clearly as martial artists.
Among them was the Black Iron Sect’s deputy leader, who had become sect leader just two days prior.
‘Goddamn it.’
He couldn’t suppress his despair. Only the Black Iron Sect and Poison Spider Valley were to launch this surprise attack—just the two minor sects!
They were no match compared to the North Sea Ice Palace forces at the Taegok Branch Hall.
He wanted to refuse, but doing so would mean facing the Bloodlight Sword Marshal’s wrath.
Attacking the Taegok Branch Hall offered at least a chance of survival even if they failed, but refusal guaranteed annihilation.
‘If I survive… I’ll never let that old Bloodlight Sword Marshal get away with this!’
Of course, it was just a thought—he had no real means to act on it.
The Poison Spider Valley Lord felt the same. With a dark expression, he asked,
“Black Iron Sect Leader. East or west—which will you take?”
“……We’ll take the west.”
“Very well. We’ll go east.”
The two comrades facing shared hardship exchanged clasped fists.
“I wish you good fortune.”
“Let’s meet again alive.”
The two hundred Black Iron Sect disciples moved cautiously toward the west side of the Taegok Branch Hall, stifling their presence.
Was it due to their caution?
They reached the branch hall’s outer wall without detecting any presence from inside.
But the Black Iron Sect Leader remained vigilant.
‘Do they truly not know, or are they pretending?’
The former would be ideal, but the latter seemed more likely.
‘Hold position for now.’
They had agreed to strike immediately after the Poison Spider Valley attacked, employing a diversion or pincer maneuver.
The Poison Spider Valley, specializing in poison, could launch the first strike relatively safely.
‘Should I run now?’
A pointless thought.
Even if they somehow escaped, the Bloodlight Sword Marshal would pursue, annihilate the Black Iron Sect, and slaughter their families.
‘In the most brutal way….’
He shuddered involuntarily. Better to die fighting the North Sea Ice Palace warriors.
‘Whew.’
It was then.
“Gah!”
“P-Poison!!”
“The enemy’s invading!”
Shouts erupted from within the Taegok Branch Hall.
‘The Poison Spider Valley has moved!’
A simultaneous attack would raise their chances of success. Without hesitation, he issued the command.
“Charge.”
The Black Iron Sect disciples followed him over the wall.
Landing lightly on the ground, the Black Iron Sect Leader quickly scanned the surroundings.
‘No one?’
It was odd. Amid such commotion, not even a single sentry was visible.
‘What the hell….’
As he moved to investigate further, he sensed something amiss.
“Huh?”
None of the Black Iron Sect disciples who had followed him over the wall were visible.
As he grew bewildered, a shout rang out.
“Now!”
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!
Something flew toward them with a piercing sound.
Thud!
“Gurk!”
Whack!
“Gah!”
Screams began as people were struck by something.
‘What the hell?!’
Unable to hide his confusion, a realization struck the Black Iron Sect Leader.
“A formation?”
The moment he realized it, a whistling sound reached his ear.
Swoosh!
“……!”
Boom!
His hand shattered the incoming arrow. It had been a close call.
Infusing his voice with inner energy, the Black Iron Sect Leader bellowed,
“Everyone, focus on your hearing!”
Understanding his intent, the screams gradually subsided.
“Damn.”
Crack!
Deflecting another arrow, the Black Iron Sect Leader focused his gaze.
‘The scenery hasn’t changed at all… I see. It’s a formation that blocks vision.’
Closing his eyes and extending his senses, he finally detected the Black Iron Sect disciples around him.
‘Amazing. They’re right beside me, yet invisible.’
But they couldn’t stay like this. Even on guard, invisible arrows were a deadly threat.
Crack!
Crack!
He deflected four arrows in succession while continuing to survey the area.
‘There must be some terrain feature anchoring the formation….’
But this space held nothing—just the wall and a wide open yard.
“Gah!”
“Gurk!”
Amid it all, screams from Black Iron Sect disciples echoed sporadically.
‘The wall? No. A wall this long can’t anchor a formation.’
An anchor alone didn’t form a formation; it always connected to something else.
‘This absurd….’
Then, a voice transmission pierced his mind.
[Fool, it’s the ground!]
“……!”
No time to ponder whose voice it was. He drew his sword from his waist and poured inner energy into it.
“Hah!”
The heavy sword qi slashed the ground.
Boom!!
Dirt flew everywhere, carving a massive crater.
“…….”
The surroundings rippled, and like mist clearing, the invisible Black Iron Sect disciples appeared.
By then, over forty disciples lay felled by arrows.
‘Damn!’
At a distance of about ten zhang, over a hundred warriors held bows aimed at them.
‘These bastards using sneaky formations….’
Roaring in fury, he shouted,
“Get it together and attack the visible enemies ahead!”
Waaaaah!
The Black Iron Sect disciples charged toward the hundred warriors.
They belonged to one of the four hundred-man units from the North Sea Martial Corps’ Third Battalion, responsible for the western defenses.
“The formation’s broken! Drop the bows and fight them directly!”
At the hundred-man unit leader’s cry, his men discarded their bows and gripped their weapons.
“I’ll take the lead!”
Dong Ho-won, who had been with them, leaped forward and swung his spear powerfully.
Whoooosh!
Slash!
“Argh!”
A Black Iron Sect disciple leading the charge was bisected by his spear, igniting the full battle.
The hundred-man unit clashed with over a hundred fifty Black Iron Sect disciples.
Clang clang clang clang!
Flash!
“Argh!”
Watching from a short distance away, Yu Gong-seon muttered,
“Pity. They caught on faster than expected.”
It was an illusion formation crafted hastily, blocking only vision.
Even so, he had hidden the formation in the ground to prevent easy disruption, but it had been discovered.
Known as the Earth Escape Illusion Formation.
Incredibly useful if undetected, but if the enemy realized it was buried underground and damaged even a part, the formation collapsed immediately.
“We’ll have to settle for seizing the initiative.”
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Yu Gong-seon remained optimistic.
Thanks to Dong Ho-won’s presence.
“Impressive.”
While others fought fiercely, Dong Ho-won was crushing the Black Iron Sect disciples.
The Black Iron Sect Leader, who had blocked Dong Ho-won’s path, exchanged a few clashes before realizing he couldn’t match him and retreated.
Dong Ho-won didn’t obsess over the leader. Instead, he subtly kept him in check while focusing on the disciples.
“His judgment’s sharpened too.”
At this rate, they could eliminate the Black Iron Sect with minimal losses.
“…….”
Yu Gong-seon closely observed the North Sea Martial Corps warriors.
Not the North Sea Ice Palace’s elite, but properly trained soldiers nonetheless.
Their skills matched the Black Iron Sect disciples.
But excited by their first real battle in a while, they grew disorganized, making frequent mistakes.
‘I told them to stay calm as much as possible… but experience is lacking.’
At best, they’d faced bandits in the North Sea.
They had trained and sparred endlessly, but life-or-death combat was almost entirely new.
No quick fix for that. They just needed to survive multiple battles.
‘I’d like to involve the hundred-man units from the north and south too, but….’
They had to prepare for potential additional raids, and easy victories wouldn’t help much.
It was crucial to win here with just this unit, accepting some sacrifices.
Dong Ho-won was here, and Eom Mu-hwi faced the Poison Spider Valley to the east.
‘With those two, losses won’t be heavy.’
The North Sea Twin Tigers, often compared to Seol Hwa-un the North Heaven Dragon and called the two tigers of the North Sea.
Overshadowed by Seol Hwa-un, their skills had long surpassed mere later-generation talents.
‘If we win this fight decisively, the gains will be substantial.’
As Yu Gong-seon monitored the battle, a sudden chill gripped him.
‘Hm?’
An immense pressure choked him, freezing him in place.
“……!”
A sinister energy silently targeted him.
‘Am I dying?’
The thought flashed; reaction was impossible. For a moment, he felt his throat sliced.
Boom!
“Huh!”
But with a shattering sound, the energy piercing his throat fragmented.
“Hah, hah, hah!”
Only then did Yu Gong-seon gasp for air. Touching his neck, he found a thin trail of blood.
‘I almost died!’
Then, a voice spoke.
“Not bad.”
“……?”
On the wall nearby, a half-white-haired man looked down at him.
‘Who’s that…?’
“To precisely shatter my Soundless Sword Qi—impressive.”
“……!”
Yu Gong-seon then realized the man wasn’t looking at him. Turning, he saw a youthful figure standing tall.
“You must be the Bloodlight Sword Marshal.”
The Bloodlight Sword Marshal bared his gleaming white teeth.
“Indeed. And you’re the North Heaven Dragon, aren’t you?”
The youth’s eyes blazed fiercely.
“I am Seol Hwa-un, Young Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace.”