Chapter 93. It's Me, Pung Un-saeng!
I knew full well what Byeok Gyo-un meant to Yang Gwan. If Byeok Gyo-un so much as died, Yang Gwan would come for their throats himself.
The two men's sword auras intensified fiercely, and in an instant, Jung-san found himself in dire peril.
Dae-san rushed over upon seeing it, but it was already too late.
Papap!
One of the disciples' swords pierced Jung-san's thigh.
"Kuhk!"
As Jung-san staggered back, Yang Gwan's disciples withdrew and flew toward Byeok Gyo-un.
"Junior Brother Byeok!"
Yang Gwan's disciples outranked Byeok Gyo-un in the sect hierarchy—they were his senior brothers. As they swarmed him, Byeok Gyo-un raised a hand to signal he was fine, only to cough up blood again.
"Urk!"
He had ruined himself trying to show off his prowess in front of Hwa Yeo-wol.
Byeok Gyo-un's gaze turned to Hwa Yeo-wol.
'Kuh... How frustrating. That evil sect's martial arts were too strong!'
'Then why'd you butt in?'
From Hwa Yeo-wol's position, she couldn't grasp the full situation atop the fake mountain. But she shot Byeok Gyo-un a cold glare, blaming him for Mi-san exploiting the opening to climb up. Had she known Hwa Cheon-baek and Hwa Cheon-gang had suffered grievous wounds from Mi-san's ambush, she would have rushed over and plunged a dagger straight into Byeok Gyo-un's chest.
Another exchange of silent glares passed between them...
"Junior brother, hurry and circulate your qi."
One disciple fed Byeok Gyo-un a Yo-sang Pill and urged him into meditation. Not satisfied, he sat behind Byeok Gyo-un, pressing his palm to the Mingmen acupoint and infusing him with energy.
The other raised his sword, standing guard over their surroundings.
In the meantime, Dae-san supported Jung-san. The swords of Geom Yak Jong carried a sharp, insidious energy.
The treacherous qi seeped into Jung-san's thigh meridians, forcing him to collapse immediately and begin circulating his qi. If he didn't expel it right away, his channels would stiffen, costing him decades of cultivated inner energy.
Thus, Dae-san had no choice but to stand guard beside him as a protector.
Following the standoff atop the fake mountain, a delicate tension settled below as well.
"......"
Urur.
The fragile standoff shattered the moment Hwa Cheon-un appeared, Hwa Ugeuk and Cheongsu Gate warriors in tow.
Rushing back from the Warehouse Wharf, Hwa Cheon-un instructed the three chief stewards who had come to greet him to secure Yang Gwan's corpse and the fallen disciples, then send the wounded to the infirmary. With Hwa Ugeuk at his side, he hurried straight to the rear garden.
"Big brother! Are you alright?!"
Hwa Cheon-un burst into the open space before the fake mountain in the rear garden, shouting toward Hwa Cheon-baek and Hwa Cheon-gang, who were locked in confrontation with three Dosanrim elites atop it.
At Hwa Cheon-un's arrival, the faces of the Yin-Yang Twin Swords and the Three Mountains Alliance twisted in dismay.
Dae-san quickly scanned Hwa Cheon-un's group—no Yang Gwan. A small mercy amid the misfortune.
Hwa Ugeuk's eyes blazed with fury upon seeing his father Hwa Cheon-baek gravely wounded.
"Father!"
Hwa Cheon-un grabbed Hwa Ugeuk as he lunged forward.
"Hold!"
They needed to assess the situation first.
Chief Steward Seok Sung transmitted the details via inner force projection.
Hwa Cheon-un's face hardened at the report: his eldest brother gravely wounded, his second brother's left arm severed.
The Yin-Yang Twin Swords and Three Mountains Alliance wouldn't leave alive.
Hwa Cheon-un sent a transmission to the Hwa U-cheon and Ugeuk brothers.
Ugeuk, you and I save our two brothers! U-cheon, with Chief Steward Seok Sung, pin down Dae-san and Jung-san with crossbows!
He made the call instantly and leaped into action. Hwa Ugeuk followed right behind.
"Where do you think you're climbing?!"
Dae-san surged from beside Jung-san, unleashing a blade qi blast, but Hwa Cheon-un and Ugeuk skirted it and scaled the fake mountain.
Yang Do signaled urgently to Eun Do and Mi-san with his eyes.
They had to finish Hwa Cheon-gang and Hwa Cheon-baek first. With Hwa Cheon-baek already gravely hurt, target Hwa Cheon-gang next—that was the signal.
Eun Do's right shoulder was pierced, but he was originally a left-hand swordsman. Of the three, he retained the most combat power.
I'll take Hwa Cheon-gang's rear.
Yang Do nodded at Eun Do's glance and bellowed loudly.
"Hwa Cheon-baek! I'll claim your life!"
Yang Do's long blade thrust toward Hwa Cheon-baek. Hwa Cheon-gang was already prepared, extending his sword to block.
Papapap!
Hwa Cheon-gang's sword pressed toward Yang Do, but Eun Do and Mi-san moved. As Mi-san slid sideways as if targeting Hwa Cheon-baek, Hwa Cheon-gang's heart raced.
In his haste, he raised his left hand to unleash palm force—but his arm... was gone.
Suddenly, Yang Do twisted his blade trajectory from Hwa Cheon-baek toward Hwa Cheon-gang, charging in. Mi-san reversed his swing toward Hwa Cheon-gang's waist as well.
From behind, Eun Do brought his blade down.
Hwa Cheon-gang faced three assaults in a flash. He blocked Yang Do's blade with his sword and twisted to evade Eun Do at his back, leaving Mi-san's lateral sweep... unblocked.
At that moment, Hwa Cheon-baek sprang forward like a coiled spring, lunging at Mi-san. Realizing survival was unlikely, he had resolved long ago to take one with him. He chose the weakest, Mi-san, as his prey and companion to the afterlife.
Puk!
The instant Mi-san's blade sank into his side, Hwa Cheon-baek's sword plunged into Mi-san's heart.
"Kuhk!"
Simultaneous groans erupted from both men.
Hwa Cheon-gang slammed down Yang Do's blade and thrust forward. As Yang Do whipped his head aside to dodge...
Shiiik!
Hwa Ugeuk, leaping onto the fake mountain, fired a crossbow bolt.
No matter how skilled Yang Do was, he was mid-dodge from his attack. The shot came from close range, and the bolt—specially crafted for the Hwa family—was devastatingly powerful.
Puk!
The iron arrow pierced Yang Do's skull.
At the same time, Eun Do's blade grazed Hwa Cheon-gang's side...
Shashak!
Hwa Cheon-un's sword, arriving in a flash, sliced across Eun Do's entire body.
"Kruhk!"
Eun Do deflected Hwa Cheon-un's stab toward his abdomen and leaped down from the fake mountain.
With Yang Do and Mi-san dead, joining Dae-san's group below was his only path to survival.
Hwa Cheon-un and Hwa Ugeuk couldn't pursue.
"Big brother!"
"Father!"
Hwa Ugeuk lifted his fallen father's upper body.
Hwa Cheon-baek's eyes had already lost their spark.
"At least I took one with me... I got to see you two wed..."
He had wanted to witness it before going...
Hwa Cheon-baek reached with his bloodied hand to caress his son's face, but his strength failed, and it fell limp.
Hwa Cheon-un supported his second brother Hwa Cheon-gang and checked his wounds. Seeing the severed arm twisted his heart. His side was deeply gashed too, leaving him unfit for battle.
He burned to slaughter Eun Do and the rest right then, but saving their top fighter took priority.
Hwa Cheon-un fed him a Yo-sang Pill, tore cloth to bind the stump tightly, stanched the side wound, and wrapped it thoroughly.
All the while, he eyed the situation below.
"Ah, Father!"
Then Hwa Ugeuk's anguished cry from beside him made his heart sink. He knew it was a life-or-death wound, but witnessing Hwa Cheon-baek's last breath felt like his own guts ripping apart.
"You bastards!"
Hwa Ugeuk's eyes blazed with blue fury.
Propping Hwa Cheon-baek against a rock, he launched himself forward.
"No! Ugeuk!"
Hwa Cheon-un startled and tried to stop him, but Hwa Ugeuk had already descended the fake mountain.
Having rejoined Dae-san below, Eun Do checked his own wounds. Pierced through the right shoulder, then slashed across chest and back by Hwa Cheon-un. The cuts weren't deep, but they struck vital points, blood streaming freely.
At least he had blocked the final abdominal thrust. If it had connected, he'd be crossing the River of Forgetfulness by now.
Eun Do staggered toward Dae-san. Among the blade killers, Dae-san was the only unwounded one—they needed him to lead their escape.
But Dae-san's eyes were fixed not on Eun Do, but behind him.
"You bastards, I'll kill you all!"
Hwa Ugeuk charged like a madman, leaping with a burst of sword qi.
Hwa Ugeuk was hot-tempered by nature. Witnessing his father's death firsthand left him blind with rage. He didn't care that his foes were Dosanrim blade killers.
Papapap!
Sword light flashed, qi swirling wildly. But it was still far short of Dae-san's level.
Tung, tung!
Dae-san casually swung his blade to deflect it and struck Hwa Ugeuk's crown. As Hwa Ugeuk parried with his sword, the blade slid along it, slashing from his left eye to right jaw.
"Kuhk!"
A bloody line traced from Hwa Ugeuk's left eye to his right jaw, blood spraying.
As Dae-san coiled for the finishing blow...
Shik! Shishik!
Crossbow bolts flew alongside a hurled sword from someone charging in.
"Ugeuk!"
Hwa U-cheon, in desperation, fired his crossbow and threw his sword as he rushed forward.
"Fire! Protect the young lord!"
Chief Steward Seok Sung urged the Cheongsu Gate warriors on. Bolts darkened the sky, raining toward Dae-san, Jung-san, and Eun Do.
Dae-san and Eun Do swung their blades to block the bolts. Jung-san could meditate no longer—he sprang up and deflected them too.
'Damn it...'
Dae-san cursed inwardly as he blocked the downpour of iron arrows.
How many of these damn bolts did they have?
The iron arrows for crossbows were just a palm's length longer than the hand, but producing this quantity required vast amounts of iron...
Cheongsu Gate had fought many naval battles against water bandits. Cannon were dominant at sea, followed by long-range greatbows. But both drew the court's scrutiny, so they couldn't use them freely.
Thus, they relied on crossbows, naturally amassing superior ones and stockpiles of bolts.
Hwa U-cheon had armed every Cheongsu Gate warrior with crossbows for this fight, so Dae-san and the others naturally struggled.
While they fended off the bolts, Hwa U-cheon dragged his brother back.
Blood streamed from Hwa Ugeuk's left eye. He had even taken internal injuries from Dae-san's blade.
Had he stayed calm, it wouldn't have come to this—but losing his reason and charging blindly had led here.
"Yeo-wol! Take Ugeuk to the infirmary now! He can't lose that eye!"
The eyes were a swordsman's most precious asset. Losing one created a blind spot.
A warrior hoisted Hwa Ugeuk onto his back and ran; Hwa Yeo-wol followed.
Fierce light gleamed in Hwa U-cheon's eyes. His gaze fell on Byeok Gyo-un and Yang Gwan's two disciples.
Had Byeok Gyo-un not interfered, wouldn't they have dragged it out as planned? They had botched everything and now stood by like spectators.
No, not standing—Byeok Gyo-un was meditating, protected by Yang Gwan's disciples.
With enemies right in front of them...
Then it hit him. There were limits to fighting by proxy...
Hwa U-cheon ground his molars.
Father dead, brother gravely wounded.
These bastards had to die here.
"Form up! Advance!"
At Hwa U-cheon's shout, Cheongsu Gate warriors encircled Dae-san's group at five jang distance, forming a ring. Closing in amplified the crossbows' power.
Chaeng! Chachaeng!
The rapid clanging of deflected bolts sounded like clashing weapons.
Moreover, Dae-san occasionally burst blade qi to sweep them away.
Peng!
The metallic clashes mixed with qi explosions, resounding like a clash of masters from afar.
Even the Red Flame Pavilion scouts mistook it as such, reporting to Gang Chun-mok that high-level experts were fiercely battling.
Hwa Yeo-wol handed Hwa Ugeuk to the infirmary physician and raced back to the rear garden. A crossbow hung at her waist too.
En route, she encountered a masked figure sprinting toward the rear garden. Hwa Yeo-wol swiftly aimed her crossbow, but the figure raised three fingers in a hush gesture.
"It's me, Pung Un-saeng."