Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Blood Evil Cult (1)
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"Urk!"
With a guttural groan, Jo Ryong's body staggered.
"True Martial Guard!"
At Joo Moon-seong, the First Royal Uncle's shout, Jo Ryong barely straightened his stance.
"Are you all right?"
Even in this direst of situations, Joo Moon-seong had maintained his imperial dignity, but now his face paled. The escorting soldiers were all dead, and most of the elite Imperial Guards had already perished. Jo Ryong was truly the last bastion. Yet even he was crumbling.
"I'm... fine..."
His words said as much, but Jo Ryong's wounds were so severe it was a miracle he hadn't collapsed already.
His body was covered in wounds large and small, and the blood he'd shed had dyed the surroundings red. Yet despite leaning on his sword, from which blood dripped steadily, just to stay upright, his eyes still burned with fighting spirit.
"Ho! Not bad with a sword, are you? I took note of you, but I didn't expect this much."
Jo Ryong's eyes wavered greatly at the eerie voice that sent chills racing across his skin just from hearing it.
Jo Ryong slowly turned his body.
An old man holding up a heart from which blood dripped was sneering. His face was utterly ordinary, one you could see anywhere, but his piercing gaze brimmed with sinister energy that stabbed at the vitals.
The old man who called himself the Blood Flame Lord.
The monster who had taken the lives of the Imperial Guard elites and the Shaolin warrior monks who had come to see them off—and even drained their vital essence.
"I had high hopes because of your skill, but what a letdown. Wrestling with an old fox like her is just no fun. No life in it at all."
He laughed as he crushed the heart in his hand.
'Even Master Yeonhwa fell to him?'
Jo Ryong's eyes filled with shock.
The princess's master and protector, Yeonhwa Master, was a supreme expert renowned across the North Sea. No one knew her prowess better than he did. Of course, having witnessed the Blood Flame Lord effortlessly slaughter the Imperial Guards and Shaolin monks right before his eyes, he had anticipated a tough fight. Still, he never imagined she'd fall this quickly.
Jo Ryong glanced around. Including himself, only five remained. And none were in any fit state to fight.
'It's over.'
Despair washed over him. His only hope had been holding out until Eom Ak, who had received orders and successfully escaped at the battle's start, returned with reinforcements. But with Yeonhwa Master fallen to the Blood Flame Lord, even that last possibility had vanished.
Even if reinforcements arrived now, it was questionable whether they could escape this crisis. Not only had the Imperial Guards who turned traitor returned, but plenty of the fiends' forces remained. Above all, the Blood Flame Lord's subordinates were still intact.
Men cloaked in blood qi darker than crimson.
There weren't many, but each one's skill was terrifyingly formidable. It was only because the Emperor's elite Royal Guards had given their lives to hold them back that they had survived this long. Otherwise, they would have all perished at the initial ambush site.
The problem was that even those Royal Guards who held them off had been annihilated.
"Giving up already? Why not struggle a bit more?"
A middle-aged man who had been enjoying the fight from a short distance away approached with a smug grin.
"You bastard!"
Killing intent blazed from Jo Ryong's eyes.
If the middle-aged man had been within reach, that sheer aura alone would have torn him apart.
Dong Cheon, the head of the Imperial Guards who had halted in his tracks, felt his eyes tremble slightly. He feigned composure, but fear was evident.
"You worthless scum! I might let the others slide, but not you."
As Jo Ryong advanced with bloodshot eyes, the startled Dong Cheon backpedaled and yelled.
"O-Old man! End this now!"
No response from the Blood Flame Lord. He shouted again.
"What are you doing? Finish them off already!"
The Blood Flame Lord, who had tilted his head, extended his hand toward Dong Cheon. Without warning, he seized Dong Cheon's nape as if dragging him by an invisible force.
"Are you giving orders to this old man right now?"
Dong Cheon frantically shook his head at the Blood Flame Lord's icy expression.
"N-No, sir. How could I dare."
The Blood Flame Lord gazed at Dong Cheon with indifferent eyes.
Dong Cheon trembled like a mouse before its natural predator.
"You old monster! What happened to my master?"
At the sudden voice, the Blood Flame Lord, pondering what to do with Dong Cheon on the verge of death, released his grip and turned his head.
"Old monster, eh? Quite the spirited girl. If you mean that old fox, didn't you just see her?"
The Blood Flame Lord sneered, licking the blood from his hand. The Blue Orchid Princess, cradling her fainted mother, bit her lip with venomous eyes.
"Did you receive orders from the Grand Tutor?"
At the word "orders," the Blood Flame Lord's face soured.
"Orders? You think that Grand Tutor can command this old man?"
As the Blood Flame Lord's gaze chilled, Joo Moon-seong, fearing for his daughter, hastily grabbed her arm and shot her a warning glance. But the Blue Orchid Princess, convinced there was no hope left, pressed on undaunted.
"Then why are you acting alongside the Grand Tutor's dog?"
"Not acting alongside—I'm here to ensure my mongrel doesn't blunder. It's rather important for the grand scheme, after all."
A sigh escaped the Blue Orchid Princess's lips.
"The Grand Tutor's gone mad. Dragging external forces into palace affairs—martial world forces, no less. But old monster, you don't think you'll escape unscathed after committing high treason, do you?"
"High treason? Ridiculous. I spare them out of laziness. The Emperor's head? I could take it anytime I wanted."
Before the Blood Flame Lord finished, a jeering voice cut in.
"We could say the same."
About ten zhang to the left, Sima Geon and Cheol Woo emerged, parting shoulder-high underbrush.
The Blood Flame Lord eyed them with wavering gaze.
Ten zhang wasn't short, but not so far they'd completely miss presences so flawlessly.
"Who the hell are you?"
The Blood Flame Lord masked his surprise and asked.
"Doesn't matter. You're the one who turned those Shaolin monks into that, right?"
"You saw that and still came? Seeking your deaths. Admirable courage."
"Who dies? We'll see."
At Cheol Woo's retort, the Blood Flame Lord's brow twitched, and the Blood-Clad Warriors waiting behind advanced.
Raising a hand to halt his men, the Blood Flame Lord smirked coldly.
"Incompetents always court death, blind to their own inadequacy."
"Blind? That's you, old man. Eyes gone bad?"
"You're truly mad."
As the Blood Flame Lord bellowed, and the halted Blood-Clad Warriors moved again, Sima Geon spoke.
"Blood Evil Cult, right?"
The Blood-Clad Warriors froze. Even the Blood Flame Lord glared wide-eyed.
Not just them.
Joo Moon-seong, Jo Ryong, and the others, who had watched hopefully at Sima Geon and Cheol Woo's arrival, were stunned speechless.
The Blood Evil Cult's name shook the martial world—and even the palace—despite a hundred fifty years passed. The shock was immense.
"H-How do you know that name?"
The Blood Flame Lord forced calm, but his voice trembled uncontrollably.
"Bingo."
"I asked how you know."
Killing intent oozed from the Blood Flame Lord's repeated question.
"Boss, Blood Evil Cult... from back then...?"
Cheol Woo looked incredulous.
In the past, during the cult's unification wars, they'd fought mysterious fiends. He lost five cherished subordinates gruesomely.
The corpses of those subordinates overlapped with the monks' heart-torn, essence-drained, withered bodies.
"Long time no see, you vermin bastards!"
Cheol Woo clenched his fists.
Painful memories resurfaced vividly.
"How we know doesn't matter. But anyone who knows our cult's name must die."
"That's my line."
Before the Blood Flame Lord finished, Cheol Woo's massive frame charged the Blood-Clad Warriors.
"Stop him!"
A desperate cry. But the Diamond Yaksha Cheol Woo wasn't one to be stopped at will.
Thud!
With a sound of flesh bursting, a Blood-Clad Warrior took Cheol Woo's fist to the face and flew like a snapped kite, crashing down.
No scream, no twitch after impact. His fate was sealed the moment he was hit.
"One down. Who's next?"
Cheol Woo grinned, facing enemies swarming from all sides without a hint of unease. He looked thrilled.
As Cheol Woo moved to dispatch them, something grazed his shoulder.
"Huh?"
Turning sharply, Cheol Woo was about to complain about the interruption when Sima Geon's thrown sword was already flying at the Blood-Clad Warriors.
Their reactions were swift.
"Blood Wall!"
At the apparent leader's shout, bloody sword qi from their blades formed a barrier.
"Oh ho! A sword curtain, eh? Impressive."
Cheol Woo admired. But it was blatant mockery.
Sima Geon's sword clashed with the curtain.
Boom!
The intense collision shattered the sword curtain effortlessly.
No fierce struggle, no push-pull of power—just overwhelming dominance.
Sima Geon's sword tore through with brute force.
The swords forming it shattered and scattered. Those hit suffered grave internal injuries, spewing blood and collapsing.
"Urk!"
A harsh groan from the leader at the forefront.
Lowering his head in disbelief, he saw the gaping chest wound. And the gushing crimson blood.
He collapsed without grasping its meaning. As his body fell, the other seven who formed the curtain also dropped, chest-pierced, onto the cold ground.
"Sword control with qi?"
The Blood Flame Lord's face hardened at losing eight subordinates in one clash.
It wasn't mere throwing.
If his eyes weren't wrong, the foe had used sword control with qi.
The qi flow was vividly clear—intensely precise, chillingly so.
"Dead Soul Blood Wolf Formation!"
At the frantic cry, the survivors moved.
'Ho! Not bad.'
Sima Geon admired the oppressive pressure closing in.
Despite losing one to Cheol Woo's ambush and eight more in a blink, the Blood-Clad Warriors showed no panic.
'Either drilled so harshly death feels like a luxury, or they've crossed death lines so often comrades' deaths numb them.'
Sima Geon naturally recalled Black Dragon Valley. He and his comrades must have looked the same upon first emerging after training.
'Impressive.'
Even in Black Dragon Valley, they'd studied formations deeply. He instantly recognized the Blood-Clad Warriors' sword formation's excellence.
Gazing at the encroaching formation, Sima Geon moved slowly. The instant he did, his form slipped into its left flank.
"Watch out!"
The Blood Flame Lord shouted instinctively at the speed and sharpness. But no need—the formation reacted in sync.
Its lifelike movements instinctively raised Sima Geon's protective aura.
The combined might of seventeen was formidable, yet it couldn't handle one man.
Flash!
A chilling gleam severed the organic flow instantly.
Thud thud thud...
Seventeen heads soared into the air before plummeting. Decapitated bodies gushed blood like waterfalls, collapsing.
"Incredible."
Admiration leaked from the Blue Orchid Princess, who had watched breathlessly.
"Beyond incredible. That's just..."
Jo Ryong, sword lowered, gaped at Sima Geon in awe.
From outside, it looked like sword qi merely radiated from Sima Geon. The result was horrifying.
"Eh? Danger...!"
Spotting the Blood Flame Lord approaching from behind, Jo Ryong almost yelled but clamped his mouth.
Sima Geon, who massacred the Blood-Clad in a blink, wouldn't miss that.
Judgment spot-on.
Sensing the Blood Flame Lord's attack—something he unleashed—Sima Geon's form slid away.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The object pursuing his afterimage ripped through the air repeatedly.
The Blood Flame Lord's face twisted at failing to catch Sima Geon despite the ambush.
He hadn't expected major damage, but assumed some hit. Sima Geon's speed exceeded expectations.
Evading, Sima Geon eyed the weapon in the Blood Flame Lord's hand.
A golden handle about a chi long, with a chain dangling roughly three zhang.
'Iron whip?'
Seeing chains scattered haphazardly around the Blood Flame Lord, intrigue flashed in Sima Geon's eyes.
Unusually long for an iron whip.
Longer reach against distant foes, but harder to wield precisely. Using it as primary meant overcoming those flaws. Overcome, it became a tricky weapon.
Sima Geon sensed the whip's bluish edge, dew-kissed at dawn.
'Not a simple chain.'
Each link razor-sharp. Midway, a round rod like the handle, about a chi long—likely for shortening. The tip resembled a dart, handle sharpened too.
"Now that our cult's name is out, no one leaves alive!"
The Blood Flame Lord yelled, slowly swinging the iron whip.
"Idiot, listen up. By that old man's logic, you're all dead too."
Cheol Woo mocked Dong Cheon, flustered by the turn of events.
"From your face, you didn't know these geezers and grunts were tied to the Blood Evil Cult."
Dong Cheon swallowed hard unwittingly.
Skill aside, as Imperial Guard head, he knew well the ripples that name stirred.
Jo Ryong eyed the floundering Dong Cheon in disbelief.
"Unbelievable. You don't even grasp whom you've dared point your sword at? The Blood Evil Cult isn't the issue now."
At Jo Ryong's roar, Dong Cheon glanced at the First Royal Uncle and blanched.
True dilemma.
Attempting to assassinate the Emperor's uncle meant clan extermination on failure. Success under Blood Flame Lord? The Blood Evil Cult name still gnawed.
"Brainless fool! Panicking at the enemy's words?"
"I-It’s just..."
"Think the Grand Tutor doesn't know of our cult?"
"Ah!"
Dong Cheon's face brightened at the Blood Flame Lord's barrage.
"Kill them now."
Pointing the whip's handle at the First Royal Uncle and his group, the Blood Flame Lord turned. Simultaneously, the whip scraping the ground shot up like a striking viper snatching prey.