Chapter 39
Chapter 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: The Chase
-----------------------------------------------------------------
#039 The Chase
The Third Young Master, kidnapped.
And right after I finished my escort duty and was on my way back.
Dan Un shot to his feet and exclaimed.
“What happened?!”
“Kuh! I came as soon as I received the Third Young Master's telepathic message, so I don't know the details.”
“Where did it happen?”
“It was in a forest about four hours into Shaanxi.”
*Clank.*
Dan Un grabbed his sword and made to go outside. I quickly caught his arm.
“We need to contact a nearby branch for backup.”
A rational judgment.
The ones who dared to attack a direct descendant of the great Martial Emperor Fortress couldn't be some random thugs.
It wasn't certain that Dan Un and I alone could rescue Lee Jeok-ha.
Unless we each had a K-2 rifle with an infinite magazine, that is.
“I'll go on ahead. You contact the branch.”
Dan Un used his light-foot technique and dashed out.
*'Son of a bitch...'*
What am I supposed to do if he just takes off like that?
It was a mission we received together, even if only in name.
If he went alone and something happened, I'd obviously take all the blame and get my head chopped off.
And by "chopped off," I don't mean from my job, but from my neck.
I turned to the Third Young Master's guard and said.
“Go to the nearest Nine Dragons Fortress branch and deliver a message. Tell them the Blue Dragon Sword and I are pursuing the Third Young Master and to send support as quickly as possible.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I ran after Dan Un.
*'But did he pay the bill?'*
He'll figure it out, I guess.
After running at full speed for four hours.
Dan Un and I arrived at the forest in question.
“This is it.”
We were able to find traces of the Third Young Master.
No, it would have been impossible *not* to find them.
“...”
Because all of Lee Jeok-ha's twenty-something guards were dead.
Thanks to that, the forest that should have been filled with the scent of grass was now thick with the stench of blood.
The one silver lining was that Lee Jeok-ha's body was nowhere to be found.
Meaning, the enemy wasn't after his life, but his person.
Dan Un briefly examined the ground, then dipped a finger into a pool of blood and tasted it.
“Cough. Ptooey.”
He coughed, spat, and continued.
“It's poison. A very potent one, at that.”
Then he lifted his chin toward one direction.
“That way.”
“How do you know that?”
“Didn't you learn tracking at the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion? It's right there in the footprints.”
At his words, I looked at the ground again.
But I only reconfirmed the fact that I couldn't find anything.
*'Seriously, we learned the same things, so why is he so good at this?'*
But I couldn't reveal my weakness.
“Indeed. Now that I look again, I see it.”
“I see. You take the lead. I'll cover the rear.”
“Ahem, I think it would be better for you to take the lead, Brother Dan.”
“Why is that?”
He's so full of questions today.
“The technique I've been practicing lately requires some distance. I was planning to unveil it during our duel, but since things have turned out this way, I can't afford to hold back.”
For the record, no such technique exists.
“Understood. I'll take the lead. Follow me.”
“Yes.”
The chase began anew.
Watching Dan Un's back as he led the way, I thought.
*'A demonic master from a past generation could show up.'*
I heightened my senses, fiddling with the pouch of Sichuan pepper powder.
* * *
Six hours later.
“Let's rest for a moment.”
“Pant, pant, is that... alright?”
“Even if we find them, we won't be able to fight properly in this state. Besides.”
Dan Un's eyes gleamed as he continued.
“We've almost caught up.”
“...I see.”
The rest was sweet.
Though we only rested for a short while, it was enough to calm our ragged breathing.
As soon as we caught our breath, we were running again.
“Who are you?!”
Before long, we encountered a group of men.
They had the faces of men with 'demon' written right on their foreheads.
What was there to say?
We had to take them down immediately.
Dan Un unleashed his killing intent and shot toward them.
*Slice!*
The battle began with a lightning-fast swing of his sword, which sent one man's head flying.
I couldn't just stand by either.
*Thump.*
I activated the War King Step and closed in on the man at the very front.
Startled, the man thrust his sword at me.
I parried the sword and drove my fist into his chest, but...
*Whack!*
The man raised his elbow and blocked my fist.
“Huh?”
“Die!”
In the moment I hesitated, a man beside him swung a thin, straight blade.
Surprised by the enemy's unexpected strength, I used the War King Step to get out of the way.
Just then, Dan Un landed beside me.
“They're first-rate masters.”
I had expected as much. Steeling myself, I replied.
“That's why I said we should've just called for backup...”
The standoff continued.
In that silence, I was the first to move.
We had to seize the initiative to break through them.
*Thooom.*
The ground shook with a thunderous step.
This wasn't the War King Step LITE version I'd been using, but the official version, fully charged with internal energy.
“!”
The men's eyes widened as I vanished in an instant.
I charged toward the flank of the farthest man.
*Crack.*
I successfully slammed the techniques of the Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes into his side.
“Aaargh!”
The piercing scream drew the enemies' attention to me, and a dozen weapons rained down in my direction.
“Hup!”
I had anticipated this.
*Boom!*
I immediately unleashed the Explosive Death Force in front of me.
The expanding wave of force successfully blocked a good number of the attacks.
*Thwack. Thud.*
Though I still had to take a few hits with my body.
“Kuh.”
The blades grazed my thigh and my left side.
If not for the Explosive Death Force, my heart and dantian would have been pierced.
But it was fine.
Because on our side, we had the ace of aces of the Nine Dragons Fortress, the Blue Dragon Sword, Dan Un.
I could see him soaring through the air from a distance.
A footwork technique that made no sound as he touched the ground.
The secret footwork of the Blue Dragon Hall. It was the movement of the Dark Fragrance Pounce.
And then.
*Fwoosh!*
The ultimate divine art of the Qingcheng Sect, the Blue Cloud Red River Sword, was unleashed.
Blue clouds and a red river.
Judging by the name, one might think it's a sword art capturing the scenic beauty of Mount Qingcheng, but the reality is completely different.
The blue clouds refer to the billowing sword energy, and the red river refers to the blood shed by enemies.
Sure enough.
*Craaash!*
With a massive explosion, half of the enemies were torn into red chunks of flesh, scattering and recreating the red river.
Seeing the grotesque scene, I was once again convinced that a duel with that bastard Dan Un was a shortcut to the afterlife.
“...Pant! Pant!”
Dan Un was gasping for air, as if he had poured all his energy into that attack.
*Thump.*
I moved again.
“We must inform the elder of this...!”
*Crack.*
To finish off the remaining enemies.
Four of them were left.
I just took care of one, so now there were three.
The remaining men emanated faint sword and saber energy, glaring at me with murderous eyes.
Their calculation seemed to be that if they killed me, they could easily handle the exhausted Dan Un.
But would it really go their way?
“Hmph!”
I unleashed the War King Step toward the man on the far left.
The man swung his saber as if he'd expected it, and the other two thrust their swords.
*'You fell for it.'*
I didn't dodge.
I just charged forward.
I parried the downward slash of my target and lunged at him.
“Ugh!”
Alarmed, the man threw a palm strike, but an attack that was merely fast and lacked power was something I could easily take.
*Crack!*
I ignored the sharp pain in my shoulder and pushed forward.
So that the swords of the enemies approaching from behind couldn't reach me.
“Keuk!”
Taking advantage of the man's panic as I pushed him back, I used the Three Yang Hand on his throat.
*Crunch.*
I grabbed his Adam's apple and crushed it.
The enemy collapsed, foaming blood from his mouth.
Another man who had approached from behind thrust his sword at my back, but...
I was faster in unleashing the Ultimate Death Force I had prepared.
“!”
The men struck down with their swords in alarm, but this was the Ultimate Death Force that even a peak master like the Soul-Stealing Killer Axe couldn't block.
It wasn't something that could be blocked by mere first-rate masters.
*Screeech!*
After cleanly slicing the two men in half, I collapsed from exhaustion. Dan Un approached with a satisfied smile on his face.
“I'm already looking forward to the Nine Dragons Tournament.”
This guy is definitely insane.
* * *
I offered Dan Un a Yosang Pill that I had brought from home.
“It's a Yosang Pill, a secret recipe of the Cheong Family Estate. I'll stand guard, so please take it and circulate your energy.”
“My thanks.”
This was a pill developed by the Cheong Family Estate's Mujun Branch Office. I'd been carrying it around looking for a clinical trial subject, and Dan Un unexpectedly won the lottery.
After a moment, Dan Un's eyes widened in surprise.
“The effect is incredible.”
“You don't feel any side effects, do you? Like dizziness or nausea.”
“None at all. But why do you ask?”
“It's nothing. I just heard it doesn't agree with some people's constitutions.”
“I feel perfectly fine, so don't worry.”
After confirming its safety, I took a Yosang Pill myself.
As I moved my body and circulated my true energy for one cycle, my internal energy recovered by nearly half.
*'It's practically a mana potion.'*
With our internal energy somewhat replenished, we began to run like madmen again.
Dan Un, in particular, seemed to be running without even breathing.
Thanks to that, whenever the gap between us widened, I had to use the War King Step to close the distance.
This went on for two hours.
By the time our bodies were soaked in sweat.
[Found them.]
Dan Un's telepathic message came through.
I immediately looked up and saw a small-statured old man running in the distance, carrying a person on his shoulder.
[Do we attack immediately?]
[I'll go in first. You attack him with that new technique you said you were learning.]
But there's no such thing...
I just nodded silently.
*Nod.*
It wasn't a sign of agreement.
My neck was just stiff, so I was stretching it.
Because I'm a man who doesn't know how to lie.
Just as I was about to pick up the pace.
The kidnapper stopped, as if he had sensed our presence.
“If I'd known it was just two of you, I would have been better off killing you and then moving on.”
“To think two of us came all this way just to catch you.”
“Crazy bastard.”
*Thud.*
With a curse, the kidnapper threw Lee Jeok-ha to the ground.
His face was dark, as if he'd been poisoned.
“Do you know who I am?”
“How should I know your name, old man? If you want people to recognize you, you should wear a name tag.”
“Kekeke, after being cooped up for twenty years, I come out to find newborn puppies who don't know fear.”
“Twenty years? Then are you the demonic master from the previous generation?”
“You guessed right. Back in my heyday, there wasn't a single soul who dared to meet my eyes.”
At his little 'back in my day' performance, I glanced over at Dan Un.
I was hoping for an explanation about the old man.
However.
*Shake, shake.*
Dan Un shook his head, indicating he had no idea either.
I had no choice but to ask the man himself.
“Just who are you to harm the Third Young Master of the Martial Emperor Fortress?”
“Mak Ju-gwang. That is my name.”
As soon as he said his name, I looked at Dan Un again.
*Shake, shake.*
*'He doesn't know anything.'*
And he's a native of this world.
I looked back at the old man to see his face had turned beet red.
“He doesn't know you. At your age, you still don't know how to introduce yourself? State your name, title, address, and specialty, in that order.”
“How dare you insult this venerable one! I'll turn you into a handful of poisonous water!”
A green energy began to flow from the old man's body, and the surrounding vegetation started to rot and wither in real time.
“Wow.”
He looked just like one of the peak masters from the Green Dragon Hall.
At times like this, I felt fortunate to be a part of the Nine Dragons Fortress.
At least I knew how to deal with a poison master.
Dan Un shot forward, his protective aura extended to its limit, signaling the start of the tag-team match.