Chapter 18: Another Legacy
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 18: Another Legacy
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The mounted bandit, Jang Young-heuk, was thrown into a panic by the sudden, frantic ringing of the bells. This thunderous alarm only sounded for one reason: an intruder.
And at this moment, there was only one group likely to raid a bandit stronghold.
"It looks like those Ice Palace bastards!"
"Check how many there are, quickly!"
"T-That... there are only two of them!"
Two?
He had heard that six people had left the Ice Palace.
Why are there only two?
No, more importantly, they dared to launch a raid with just two people? Did they have a death wish?
Unable to believe his ears, Jang Young-heuk rushed outside—and stopped dead.
Whoosh!
The Great Plains were already being swallowed by a wall of fire.
"What in the world..."
"What is happening?!"
The deputy leader, Sa Ma-geon, came running out.
"Who! Who set these fires?!"
"It's the intruders, sir."
Strangely, the location of the initial commotion and the place where the fires had started were in opposite directions.
They caused a distraction and set the fires from behind.
In this state, the bandits would be paralyzed by indecision—should they extinguish the flames or engage the intruders?
"Deputy Leader, give the order! Do we handle the intruders or put out the fire?"
Jang Young-heuk pushed the decision onto his superior. He knew that a single wrong choice here could lead to the total annihilation of their forces.
"H-Handle the intruders first! A fire like that can be put out easily enough later!"
Following Sa Ma-geon's command, the bandits began to swarm toward the source of the disturbance.
Watching them congregate to face the "intruders," Hyeok Ryeon-yeom fanned the flames even higher.
Roar—
"The fire is getting out of control!"
"The enemy is only two people! Focus!"
Jang Young-heuk watched the flames spread with terrifying speed and called out to Sa Ma-geon again.
"We shouldn't be fighting! We have to stop this fire right now!!"
"Y-Yes, you're right! Hurry, put out the fire!"
Jang Young-heuk realized then that trusting the deputy leader in this crisis was a fool's errand.
Whether that idiot burns to death or not is none of my business.
Seeking his own survival, Jang Young-heuk moved toward the edge of the blaze to try and contain it. It was then that a voice drifted through the heat.
"I didn't expect to find a bandit with a functioning brain."
A man walked calmly out from the wall of fire. Jang Young-heuk knew instantly that this was the culprit.
"So, you're the one behind this..."
"Well, you shouldn't have messed with the Ice Palace."
Sring—
As the man drew his sword, the atmosphere shifted violently. If the air had been merely hot before, now a searing energy radiated from him—a heat so intense it felt as if Jang Young-heuk would melt just by standing near him.
"These flames... Don't tell me the Blood Wolf was also killed by you..."
"It seems I've come to the right place," Hyeok Ryeon-yeom muttered with a smirk.
"Burn."
Fire Control Sword, Third Form: Flame Butterfly.
Flutter—
A butterfly made of flickering embers drifted through the air and settled on Jang Young-heuk’s shoulder. He watched it land with wide eyes, yet he found himself unable to move, unable to dodge.
"Damn it."
With those final words, Jang Young-heuk was gone.
Fwoosh!
He was instantly incinerated, leaving nothing but ash.
*
The deputy leader of the bandits, Sa Ma-geon, moved personally to cut down the two intruders. With their leader, the Blood Wolf Gwak Do-han, dead, he knew he had to distinguish himself now to be recognized as the new chief.
"Who goes there!"
As the "Black Leopard" let out his war cry, Baek Mu-yong and Tae Un-seo turned to look at him.
"Squad Leader. I'm hungry."
"Even with this smell of burning everywhere?"
"I think meat cooked over that fire would taste delicious."
"I suppose it would."
Despite being in the heart of the enemy camp, Baek Mu-yong and Tae Un-seo were perfectly composed. The only reason the Ice Palace had found these bandits troublesome was their sheer numbers and their tendency to cling on like leeches no matter how many were killed.
However...
It's a different story if we just burn them all.
As of today, the bandit strongholds in the southern reaches of the North Sea would cease to exist. Impossible? That word didn't exist in Hyeok Ryeon-yeom's vocabulary.
"Let's finish this quickly and go eat."
"Sounds good."
Boom!
Tae Un-seo charged at Sa Ma-geon, a murderous glint in his eyes.
Clang!
His kitchen knife was blocked by Sa Ma-geon's axe.
"Oh?"
Tae Un-seo immediately shouted to Baek Mu-yong.
"Squad Leader, this guy is strong!"
"I know!"
Baek Mu-yong joined the fray, and the two began a coordinated assault. In the Central Plains, attacking two-on-one might have invited insults, but this was a battlefield where life and death hung in the balance. In a place where people killed or were killed, no one had the luxury of complaining about "cowardice."
"What are you doing? Help me!"
As Baek Mu-yong and Tae Un-seo pressed their advantage, the Black Leopard Sa Ma-geon roared at his subordinates.
"To think the Ice Palace would resort to ganging up on a single man... How lowly."
Cr-crack—
The bandits who had been rushing to support Sa Ma-geon suddenly stopped in their tracks. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say they were frozen solid.
"Y-Young Palace Lord."
Seol Yerin had stepped forward to support Baek Mu-yong and Tae Un-seo.
"The... the Young Palace Lord of the Ice Palace."
Sa Ma-geon was the only one who hadn't been frozen. As the surrounding air turned frigid despite the raging fires, his expression hardened. The tables had turned.
One against three.
"I-If you think ganging up on one person is lowly..."
Sa Ma-geon tried to shout that they were the lowly ones now, but he found that his jaw would no longer move.
"My, you certainly talk a lot."
Crack.
Seol Yerin watched as Sa Ma-geon was encased in ice from head to toe, turning into a frozen statue.
"Now, let us go help the Third Young Master."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Understood!"
Having witnessed her turn dozens of bandits into ice statues without blinking an eye, Baek Mu-yong and Tae Un-seo followed her orders without a second thought.
*
There were no bandits left standing.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom looked out over the burning plains, satisfied that the pests bothering the Ice Palace had been largely eradicated.
"It's burning well."
"Ji-young picked the perfect starting points."
Wi Ji-young had located the areas where fuel and refuse were piled high. Once the fires were lit and fanned, the blaze had jumped from one structure to another in no time.
"But... Captain. Can we actually put this out?"
"Yeah. I plan to put it out once everything has burned down."
Of course, extinguishing it wasn't Hyeok Ryeon-yeom's job.
"This is the first time I've used my Extreme Yin Qi with the intention of putting out such a massive fire," Seol Yerin remarked.
"You can do it."
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom had a rough idea of just how much Extreme Yin Qi resided within Seol Yerin. As she said, extinguishing a fire of this scale would be taxing and consume a great deal of energy. However, he believed she possessed the power to quench even the greatest inferno.
How do you stop someone who can use Absolute Zero?
Temperature is related to the average kinetic energy of the particles that make up matter. Absolute Zero is the state where that kinetic energy is at its absolute minimum. In other words, atoms and molecules come to a near-complete standstill, and everything freezes.
This was the nature of the Extreme Yin Body as Hyeok Ryeon-yeom understood it, combining his magical knowledge from past lives with scientific principles.
I can analyze others like this, but...
He still wasn't entirely sure about the nature of his own Extreme Yang Body. If he had to name it, perhaps "Absolute Heat Body"?
I managed to melt her Extreme Yin Qi, but I couldn't neutralize it completely.
Just as Seol Yerin had recovered her health by melting the ice that threatened to freeze her physical body, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom's own body achieved a state of harmony whenever he absorbed her Extreme Yin Qi.
—Keke, do not overindulge in the Yang energy you possess.
The Sword Venerable spoke up with a hint of concern, and Hyeok Ryeon-yeom nodded. He knew all too well that too much of a good thing could be poisonous.
"Well then, Lady Seol. It looks like most of it has burned away. I'd appreciate it if you could put out the fire now."
"Understood."
Seol Yerin began to ramp up the intensity of the frost she had been emitting, pushing it to its limit.
Then...
Whoooosh!
The flames were suppressed in an instant. The red, glowing plains turned black, only to be immediately covered by a layer of pristine white ice.
"I... I can't believe it."
Wi Ji-young gasped in admiration. Seol Yerin was freezing everything, even the acrid smoke. It felt as if the North Sea had physically reclaimed the bandits' territory.
"I agree."
"Thank you for restoring the Young Palace Lord's health, Captain."
Baek Mu-yong also expressed his gratitude. If not for Hyeok Ryeon-yeom, they would never have seen the Young Palace Lord in such high spirits, let alone witnessed her wiping out bandits like this.
"Hm? But if this gets out... people might say the Young Palace Lord wiped out the bandits instead of the Captain."
"It doesn't matter. The result is what's important."
He didn't know if anyone had witnessed the fire, but at this stage, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom needed to avoid the spotlight.
The Demonic Cult is likely still watching me.
He needed to build a solid foundation before Hyeok Ryeon-geuk came looking for him.
"Huff... huff..."
Seeing the Young Palace Lord panting after extinguishing the flames, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom approached her and shared some of his warmth.
"You did well. Get some rest."
"Th-thank you..."
As her eyes drifted shut, Eun-bin flinched.
"It's okay, she's just asleep."
Exhausting her Extreme Yin Qi like this was actually beneficial for her. It reduced the internal pressure of the cold energy that constantly tried to freeze her from within.
"Well then, since we've successfully passed the Palace Lord's trial, shall we head back?"
He was genuinely curious to see his father-in-law's face when he heard that a mere six people had wiped out the bandits of the Great Plains.
Just as they were about to begin the return journey to the Ice Palace...
—Hm? Wait a moment.
The Sword Venerable, sensing something, began to move toward a specific spot.
"Everyone, halt."
"Sir? What is it?"
"Deputy Squad Leader, I'm leaving Lady Seol in your care."
"Pardon? Understood."
"Ji-young, you and Tae Un-seo prepare to camp for the night."
"What?!"
"There's somewhere I need to check. Wait here."
"C-Captain!"
Ignoring Baek Mu-yong's shout, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom deployed his lightness technique and followed the Sword Venerable. There had to be a reason for the ghost to move so urgently.
—This way!
He followed the Sword Venerable, who glided through the air as if beckoning him. At the very edge of the land Seol Yerin had covered in ice...
Cr-crack—
A fissure was opening in the ground, revealing a hidden gap.
—I can feel the energy of Extreme Yin leaking from here. It feels like a power on par with my own...
"It looks like," Hyeok Ryeon-yeom whispered, "we've found another one."
The legacy of another Martial God of the North Sea, buried here in the south.