Chapter 125
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Turning the Tide
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“Phew.”
Seol Hwa-un had unleashed Wind Thunder Traps in all directions to drop his foes in one fell swoop, and their power had indeed been satisfying.
‘The problem is…’
The internal energy drain was greater than expected. His entire body thrummed with surging blood and qi as a result.
He needed to sit down and circulate his energy right away.
‘Not yet.’
He strained to stabilize his internal energy while remaining on his feet.
‘Hm.’
To make matters worse, the chill holding his sword wound frozen was weakening.
Sure enough, the Ghost Charm Art’s energy seized the chance to worsen the injury.
“……”
Bok Yeo-wol, who had swiftly retreated and saved his own skin, was dumbfounded by Seol Hwa-un’s shocking display of martial prowess.
‘No way! They were sect leaders in their own right, and he took them all out in a single exchange!’
Seol Hwa-un was far more formidable than he had anticipated.
‘Even after defeating the Blood Radiance Sword Lord, he shows this level of skill… Hm?’
Then Bok Yeo-wol suddenly noticed something off about Seol Hwa-un’s condition.
‘Why’s he just standing there?’
He realized Seol Hwa-un’s face was unusually pale.
‘I get it. He’s already at his limit!’
Bok Yeo-wol’s eyes gleamed.
‘This is my chance. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!’
The other warriors nearby were too stunned by Seol Hwa-un’s astonishing martial arts to even consider attacking.
‘If I take his head…!’
Not only would he eliminate the North Sea Ice Palace’s Taegok Branch, but he might even rise to lead the unified Shansi unorthodox factions.
‘Strike fast before he recovers!’
Resolved, Bok Yeo-wol gathered his momentum and drew his saber.
Shing!
‘They call this turning misfortune into fortune, huh? Heh heh heh.’
Seol Hwa-un saw Bok Yeo-wol charging and felt a pang of dismay.
‘What now?’
Dong Ho-won and Eom Mu-hwi, drained of their internal energy, were too far away to help in any way.
Of course, he wasn’t completely out of options.
If he recalled the energy suppressing his sword wound, he could manage one solid punch.
The issue was that while it might get him past this immediate crisis, the injury would worsen dramatically, potentially turning fatal.
The wound’s location on his chest meant it could affect his heart.
‘No choice, then.’
He had no intention of dying here, so as he prepared to pull back his energy, Seol Hwa-un spotted something.
“……!”
Even as Bok Yeo-wol’s saber closed in on his face, a faint smile crept onto Seol Hwa-un’s lips.
“……?”
Bok Yeo-wol, mid-swing for the kill, couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
‘What? Given up?’
In that instant, a chill prickled the back of his neck.
Slash!
‘Huh?’
The world spun wildly. It didn’t take long for him to grasp his situation.
‘I… I…!’
Thud, thud.
Bok Yeo-wol’s head, soaring through the air, hit the ground.
The one who had severed his head was none other than the Ice Sword Brigade Leader.
“How dare you swing your blade at him.”
He had rushed over so frantically that his face and hair were drenched in sweat.
“Young Palace Lord, are you all right?”
“Phew. That was close, Ice Sword Brigade Leader.”
The Ice Sword Brigade Leader smiled.
“Glad I wasn’t too late.”
Ice Sword Brigade members and Shansi Sword Sect warriors began arriving in droves behind him.
“Looks like the Vice Leader of Drunken Tune Valley showed up right on time.”
Seol Hwa-un’s secret weapon.
It was the Vice Leader of Drunken Tune Valley.
Seol Hwa-un had released him with orders to persuade the unorthodox factions blocking the path between the Shansi Sword Sect and Taegok Branch.
In exchange, not only would Drunken Tune Valley be forgiven, but all their past hostilities as well.
After some hesitation, the Vice Leader had sought them out and spoken of the Blood Radiance Sword Lord’s tyranny.
He urged them to cooperate with the North Sea Ice Palace instead, to preserve their own forces.
“……?”
The Ice Sword Brigade Leader looked puzzled, and Seol Hwa-un gave a sly smile.
“It’s a long story.”
“We were debating whether to break through the unorthodox forces when they suddenly withdrew from the pass, letting us hurry here.”
“You’ve done well.”
“Rest now, sir. We’ll handle the rest.”
All sixty Ice Sword Brigade members had returned, along with four hundred elite Shansi Sword Sect warriors come to aid the Taegok Branch.
The Shansi Sword Sect had essentially left only a skeleton crew behind and mobilized nearly everyone.
“The Ice Sword Brigade is back!”
“The Shansi Sword Sect has come to aid the main palace!”
“Sweep away the unorthodox scum!”
The unorthodox warriors, on the other hand, were thrown into disarray.
“W-what’s going on?”
“Where’s the Sect Leader? Sect Leader!”
“Argh!”
Caught in a pincer attack, the unorthodox warriors fell one after another.
Having lost all their leaders, any organized resistance was impossible. In the chaos, countless more perished.
With the tide turned, the terrified unorthodox warriors had only one choice left.
“S-surrender!”
“We surrender!”
The survivors dropped their weapons and raised their hands.
“We’ve won!”
Hooray!
Thus, the fierce clash between the Shansi unorthodox factions and the Taegok Branch ended in victory for the latter.
* * *
Bing Cho-pung reported.
“Here’s the casualty report for the North Sea Martial Corps’ three divisions: eighty-eight dead, fifty-seven severely wounded, and the rest lightly injured.”
“……”
“The Ice Sword Brigade has seven dead and five severely wounded. The Shansi Martial Squad has three dead and twenty injured.”
The Ice Sword Brigade and Shansi Martial Squad had indeed suffered minimal losses.
The former thanks to their superior prowess, the latter to their vast experience.
“We annihilated around sixteen hundred unorthodox fighters and captured one hundred twenty as prisoners.”
By the numbers, it was a great victory. But the cost couldn’t be called light.
Yu Gong-seon asked.
“How about the Shansi Sword Sect?”
“Since they joined as the battle turned decisively, their losses were fortunately light.”
The Ice Sword Brigade Leader added.
“Even so, their aid allowed us to cut our own losses significantly.”
“Of course.”
The post-victory meeting hung heavy in the air.
“……”
As if to lighten the mood, Yu Gong-seon spoke up.
“The sacrifices were great, but our victory was worth it.”
“……”
“We’ve firmly established the Taegok Branch’s presence in Shansi Province and secured a highly advantageous position for future expansion.”
Many unorthodox factions had been crushed or rendered toothless in the battle. The resulting power vacuum offered ample room for growth.
“We’ve laid a solid bridgehead for the main palace’s advance into the Central Plains. To honor the fallen warriors’ sacrifices, we must press on even harder.”
“Well said.”
Bing Cho-pung asked.
“But how’s the Young Palace Lord doing?”
Come to think of it, Seol Hwa-un was absent from the command meeting.
Yu Gong-seon replied.
“He’s circulating his energy in his quarters. Fortunately, he’s not in critical condition.”
“That’s a relief.”
The mood shifted again at the mention of Seol Hwa-un.
“The one who took down the Blood Radiance Sword Lord was the Young Palace Lord, right?”
Yu Gong-seon nodded at the Ice Sword Brigade Leader’s question.
“Yes. Few witnessed the fight amid the melee, but I was lucky enough to see it.”
“Oho.”
“The Young Palace Lord’s fame will soon echo across the Central Plains once more.”
“First the Blood Sound Death Lord, now the Blood Radiance Sword Lord… two of the Four Evils of the Demonic Path felled by the Young Palace Lord.”
“Ah, you forgot the Heaven’s Remnant Twin Fiends.”
The group’s eyes widened at Yu Gong-seon’s words.
“They were there too?”
“Yes, my apologies. I learned of their involvement just before the battle started but held off announcing it. No sense in dampening morale.”
“Ah.”
“So the Young Palace Lord took them down as well?”
Yu Gong-seon smiled and shook his head.
“No. Our North Sea Twin Heroes handled them.”
“Eom Mu-hwi and Dong Ho-won?”
“Ha ha, that’s astounding!”
“They’ve been overshadowed by the Young Palace Lord, but those two are incredible in their own right. This is a perfect chance to spread their names far and wide.”
“Hahaha. No need to worry. Felling the Heaven’s Remnant Twin Fiends will boost their fame on its own.”
Their rising stars would elevate the North Sea Ice Palace’s prestige as well.
And that was just the beginning.
Though unspoken, the palace itself would gain immense renown from this triumph—it was plain as day.
Everyone nodded with proud expressions.
“Let’s move on. The battle caused significant material losses as well. Repairs and resupply will cost a fortune…”
* * *
Seol Hwa-un had spent the entire day immersed in energy circulation.
‘…Vicious stuff.’
With his internals stabilized, he turned to purging the Ghost Charm Art’s energy. Even his pure internal energy made short work of it.
‘If it were just ordinary poison, it would’ve been easier.’
He wasn’t fully immune to all poisons, but he had reached a stage of resistance to a hundred toxins.
Most venoms had no effect on him. Even potent ones could be expelled with his Ice White Divine Art without much trouble.
‘It’s like it’s infused with a will to kill no matter what.’
That might explain the Blood Radiance Sword Lord’s gruesome end.
‘It’s a freakish art, completely divorced from conventional supreme techniques.’
Of course, Seol Hwa-un’s energy wasn’t ineffective. The Ghost Charm Art’s energy was fading bit by bit.
‘But it’s taking too damn long.’
At this rate, he’d need at least a month of recuperation.
An idea struck Seol Hwa-un.
‘Poison… right, it’s energy with poisonous properties. In that case.’
He immediately summoned the Pure Yang Infinite Art.
Whoosh!
The effect was instantaneous.
The Ghost Charm Art’s energy recoiled in fear, then—once surrounded by the Pure Yang Infinite Art’s energy—burned away in a flash.
‘That’s it!’
A tenacious energy indeed, but it had a perfect counter.
‘Hmm.’
Where on earth had the Blood Radiance Sword Lord learned this Ghost Charm Art?
‘If someone gets hit by it even once…’
They might not die right away, but they’d eventually be consumed by it and meet their end.
‘…Unless they’ve mastered a pure yang supreme art like the Pure Yang Infinite Art.’
The problem was how few such pure yang arts remained in the current martial world.
‘The Hunyuan Sect’s lineage ended with me, and the Sun Divine Palace of the Southern Barbarians was wiped out long ago.’
Pure yang-based supreme arts had once been plentiful, but they were rarities now.
It was only natural.
One-sided extreme arts paled against those pursuing yin-yang harmony in power, so they naturally fell by the wayside.
‘Something smells off.’
How many in the current martial world could properly counter this Ghost Charm Art?
The Blood Radiance Sword Lord’s cryptic final words nagged at him too.
‘There’s no way an art like this sprang up overnight. “The peace will soon shatter.” Is some force plotting something?’
The Three Powers of the Realm were in conflict, but it was still a relatively peaceful era. His words suggested the calm might be illusory.
‘If someone’s scheming, I’ll cross paths with them soon enough.’
And when he did, he wouldn’t let them off easy.