Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Crown Prince Yi So's Resolve
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“Do not resent me.”
Slash!
A general’s head fell to Yi So’s sword. The general was from the Western Legion, loyal to the Empress.
Another general recoiled in shock. But Gwan Ji-baek was there.
Gwan Ji-baek’s sword cleaved through the air.
Thud!
The general couldn’t even scream as his head flew off. Gwan Ji-baek approached Yi So.
“All the spies planted by the Commander have been eliminated.”
“Keep searching and eliminate any more you find.”
“Understood.”
Gwan Ji-baek dashed back into the battlefield.
Yi So gazed at the battlefield where fierce fighting raged. The battle with the enemy, which had begun just moments ago, was already rushing toward its climax.
Yi So had deliberately induced the chaos.
Of course, it was to remove the spies the Commander had planted, and the result was a success.
Since he had eliminated them all covertly amid the melee, no one had noticed.
‘I need a crushing victory. One so overwhelming that the warriors who came with me cannot deny my worth.’
Sizzle!
Yi So’s sword brimmed with energy once more.
The martial artists surrounding him like an iron wall moved in sync as they advanced toward the battlefield.
Since the battle began, there had been several attacks aimed at Yi So, but none had pierced their defensive net—they had all fallen.
They were ruthless and merciless.
Yi So issued a command toward a figure on the left.
“Go and bring me the heads of the enemy commanders. As many as you can!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Let’s go!”
Whoosh!
At his order, ten martial artists leaped toward the battlefield. Yi So advanced slowly behind them.
“Uwaaak!”
“Charge!”
The enemy rushed in.
But the martial artists encircling Yi So were an impregnable fortress.
Flash!
Thump!
“Argh!”
“Kuaaak!”
An enemy martial artist somehow breached the guard line. But he couldn’t even withstand a single strike from Yi So—he was bisected and crumpled to the ground.
Yi So infused his voice with inner power and shouted.
“Leave not a single one alive! Slaughter them all!”
Poof!
Snow powder erupted around him.
It was due to the power in his voice.
Yi So searched for Gwan Ji-baek. Not far away, Gwan Ji-baek was dancing a ferocious blade dance.
He was a tiger leaping into a flock of sheep. Whenever his azure energy flashed, an enemy inevitably fell. Even if they somehow blocked it, they were cleaved in two along with their sword.
‘That’s right. Today, unleash your pent-up rage to your heart’s content.’
Just then, Yi So’s eyes locked onto an enemy commander rampaging against their allies, piercing like a dagger.
The martial artists around the enemy commander were all experts, and corpses of their own men littered the ground nearby.
“Yeon Kingdom mongrels! I’ll crush every last one of your skulls!”
“Charge!”
“Argh!”
“Uwaaak!”
A faint murderous glint rose in Yi So’s eyes.
He kicked off the ground and leaped, and the martial artists soared into the air in unison.
Boom! Boom!
The heads of enemies Yi So trampled exploded like watermelons. They collapsed into pools of blood without knowing what hit them.
Hummm!
Yi So’s sword suddenly extended.
It was a phenomenon caused by the expanding energy.
The enemy commander spotted Yi So and hastily changed direction.
At the same time, Yi So’s sword slashed through the air, but the enemy blocked it.
Boom!
Whoosh!
“Ugh!”
“Keuk!”
Those nearby were swept up in the shockwave and sprayed blood.
The shocked enemy commander glared wide-eyed.
But Yi So gave him no respite.
Flash!
Boom!
“Urk!”
A groan escaped the enemy commander who blocked the second strike.
As he staggered back, martial artists blocked his path.
“Step aside.”
Whoosh!
A terrifying energy surged from Yi So’s entire body, shoving the martial artists backward.
Flash!
“Uwaak!”
“Kuaak!”
Yi So dispatched the martial artists blocking his way and charged at the enemy commander, who was steadying his stance behind them. The enemy commander widened his eyes and roared ferociously.
“Uwaaak!”
Yi So did not dodge the enemy’s sword thrusting toward his chest—he met it head-on.
Boom!
“Guh!”
Blood spurted from the enemy commander’s mouth.
His right arm, gripping the sword, snapped off at the elbow.
Slash!
Yi So immediately severed the enemy commander’s leg. The one-legged man staggered and collapsed.
Whoosh!
Yi So sealed the enemy commander’s acupoints with the tip of his sword.
“We’ll drag this one back to camp.”
“Yes!”
One martial artist hoisted the enemy commander over his shoulder.
Tweet! Tweet!
Whistles pierced sharply from all directions. The enemy began to flee.
A lion’s roar erupted from Yi So’s mouth. It was a brutally merciless command.
“Pursue and slaughter them all!”
“Chase them!”
“Kill them every last one!”
“Uwaaaa!”
Swoosh!
Gwan Ji-baek landed beside Yi So.
“Your Highness!”
“I’m fine.”
“But the blood…”
“It’s not mine, so don’t worry.”
Yi So examined Gwan Ji-baek’s body.
Gwan Ji-baek was drenched in blood from head to toe. When he grinned, his teeth gleamed especially white.
“This lowly one is fine as well!”
Swoosh!
The martial artists dispatched on Yi So’s special orders returned one by one. Each held severed heads dripping blood.
“Grrrr…”
The captive enemy commander, missing a leg, writhed and wailed.
“Bring me some liquor.”
“Here you are, Your Highness.”
Yi So quenched his thirst with the liquor handed by a martial artist, then passed the bottle to Gwan Ji-baek.
Gwan Ji-baek drained the rest.
“A crushing victory, Your Highness.”
“Call back the warriors now.”
“Warriors, return!”
Tweet! Tweet!
The warriors who had pursued the enemy began to return. Several generals rushed to Yi So’s side.
“Your Highness! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Quickly tend to the wounded. The enemy’s main camp isn’t far—we must hurry back.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Waaaa!
The gathering warriors cheered.
The joy of a crushing victory was incomparable. Yi So calmed his gaze as he looked upon them.
“Long live Crown Prince Your Highness!”
“Long live!”
Yi So raised his hand, and the cheers ceased.
Yi So called out to the warriors in a low voice infused with power.
“All of you here today will stand with me from now on. Do you swear it?”
“Yes!”
“Will you become the blades of Yi So?”
“Yes!”
The mountains, rivers, and grasses reverberated.
The sheer momentum made fleeing enemies collapse in terror.
Gwan Ji-baek laughed.
“Uhuhu.”
It was a very strange laugh.
* * *
Some entered the gruesome battlefield.
Surprisingly, among them were Hwangbo Tae-jin, patriarch of the Hwangbo family, and the Ghost Valley Lord.
The Ghost Valley Lord, having returned to the Zhao Kingdom empty-handed, had fortunately joined the Southwest King’s forces. He had volunteered to come here.
But the one leading the group was someone else.
Early fifties, perhaps?
If a snake took human form, it might look like this. The man in a robe darker than blood scanned the battlefield, furrowing his brow.
“The attack point they mentioned was clearly the first line of defense. Why did they strike here?”
“They must have deliberately misled us!”
“Impossible. They desire the Crown Prince’s death even more than we do.”
The blood-robed man’s gaze fixed on one spot. Amid piles of corpses, a severed leg and a sword lay discarded.
It was the sword of the general Yi So had captured.
The blood-robed man flicked his hand, and the sword flew through the air into his grasp.
Clang!
Twitch.
The blood-robed man’s eyebrows curved like blades.
“Captured, perhaps?”
“This sword…”
Those who recognized it gasped in unison. Hwangbo Tae-jin and the Ghost Valley Lord exchanged shocked glances. The sword’s owner was a renowned expert, a trusted subordinate cherished by the blood-robed man.
The blood-robed man stared silently eastward.
His eyes burned with a bloody murderous glint.
“I’ll repay this tenfold, a hundredfold soon enough.”
Poof…
Snow powder billowed wildly around the blood-robed man. Everyone nearby, coated white, couldn’t even twitch.
* * *
On the way back, Gwan Ji-baek asked.
“Commander, will you let that one go?”
“One who tried to kill the Crown Prince—if I let him be, who in this land would respect the imperial dignity? The moment we return, I’ll have the Commander’s head.”
“The generals loyal to him won’t stand idly by.”
“No, they won’t dare intervene. I’ll make sure of it.”
Gwan Ji-baek saw the fierce resolve in Yi So’s eyes. In all his time with Yi So, he had never seen such intense, determined eyes.
It put his mind at ease.
‘He’s gradually revealing the true self he kept hidden.’
* * *
“Our forces are returning!”
A meaningful smile played on the lips of Western Legion Commander Jin Seongju, who had been leisurely sipping tea.
“This war will soon draw to a close.”
He set down his teacup and asked.
“How many troops are returning?”
“Well, they’re returning with almost no losses.”
“What? Almost no losses?”
“That’s the initial report, at least. It could be a misreport due to the blizzard—I’ll go confirm!”
The general rushed out.
Jin Seongju muttered with a frown.
“It must be wrong. With several times their number waiting, how could that be.”
“What of the Crown Prince, I wonder?”
“If he fell, he’s a hero. If he returns alive, he’ll be the laughingstock of the world. An incompetent Crown Prince who sacrificed twenty thousand precious troops as blood offerings to the enemy and fled alone. Hahaha.”
But even as Jin Seongju laughed, an unease lingered. The initial report of near-zero losses nagged at him.
‘No way. A Crown Prince with scant battle experience couldn’t handle several times their number of Zhao elites. It must be a mistaken report.’
Jin Seongju lifted his teacup again. Just then, the general sent to assess returned.
“Why are you back so soon after going to check?”
“Commander! Something’s wrong!”
“Wrong? What?”
“Our forces didn’t attack the Zhao first defense line—they hit somewhere else!”
“What!”
Crash!
Jin Seongju shot to his feet, the teacup shattering and scattering from his hand.
Tremble…
A convulsion twisted Jin Seongju’s face.
“Attacked somewhere else? How? Why!”
It was then.
“Guh!”
“Uwaak!”
Screams rang out from outside the tent.
In the sudden chaos, the two generals with Jin Seongju hurriedly headed for the entrance.
But they didn’t make it out.
Because Yi So was entering through the door.
“…!”
Flash!
Thump!
Two severed heads hit the ground. And a sword protruded from the reporting general’s chest.
Thud!
“Guh!”
“I must have returned too quickly and startled you. No— you couldn’t believe I returned alive.”