Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: Go Mi's Crisis
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‘Time is running out.’
Go Mi was anxious.
It would have been ideal if she could hold out until Hwa Ryeong brought reinforcements, but as time dragged on, maintaining the formation grew increasingly difficult.
The one silver lining was that she had bought Hwa Ryeong plenty of time to slip away by keeping the enemies’ eyes fixed here.
‘I can’t just sit around waiting.’
Now she had to escape this place somehow herself.
Like Hwa Ryeong, Go Mi moved to scale the cliff and stealthily slip beyond the formation.
Was it because she had depleted her internal energy so heavily to sustain the formation? Her climbing speed was markedly slow.
Crunch.
‘I can’t die here. I still have too much left to do.’
Her lips turned blue and numb where her teeth had dug in. Strangely, in that moment, the first face to surface in her mind was not Crown Prince Yi So, but Yi Hwan.
Every moment she had shared with him flashed by like a lantern show.
Surge.
Tears suddenly welled up.
She might never see him again.
*I only hope this world flows along its natural course. If that end brings an era of peace and prosperity, I will gladly welcome it.*
‘I wanted to walk that path with you…….’
Crunch!
Go Mi climbed the cliff, clutching and stepping on jutting rocks.
Had about an incense stick’s worth of time passed like that?
At last, the formation shattered.
“There she is!”
“Chase her!”
The formation had finally broken, and the enemies spotted Go Mi. Looking down, she saw a few scaling the cliff. The others headed north along the gorge.
They were the greater threat.
The northern side of the gorge had a gentler slope, making it far more likely they would intercept her before those climbing the cliff.
Go Mi pushed with all her might. Her nails splintered and skin tore, blood flowing, but she couldn’t afford a single pause.
Meanwhile, Mun I-jong, who had just arrived at the scene, looked up at Go Mi scaling the cliff and caught his breath.
Having run without rest, steam rose thickly from his body.
An aide asked,
“If she planned to flee like that, why did she wait so long to make her move?”
“Probably to buy time for the one who slipped out first.”
Mun I-jong turned coldly to the assassins already on site.
“You knew one had escaped this place, didn’t you?”
“……Pardon?”
Slap!
The slapped assassin toppled backward.
Mun I-jong shouted coldly.
“Climb the damn cliff, fly up there, do something! Hurry!”
“Yes!”
The elite assassins who had stayed by Mun I-jong’s side sprang into action.
Mun I-jong quenched his throat with a waterskin from his aide, then fixed his gaze on Go Mi.
*At last, I can finish off that wench. No, capturing her alive might yield even more.*
Go Mi had been a thorn in his side. To blind Yi Hwan’s eyes and ears, she had to die, which was why he had invested so much effort until now.
But he had failed every time, leading to this day.
With the object of his murderous desire now within reach, greed swelled to keep her alive and extract information on Yi Hwan and Yi So.
The aide said,
“They can easily reach the top via the north side of the gorge. Shall we head there?”
“I’ll go that way, so you lead your men and guard the pass leading here from the Imperial Palace. If by some chance the one we encountered on the way here shook off pursuit and succeeded in calling for aid, the Fourth Imperial Prince’s guards might come swarming. Tell everyone: capture her alive.”
“Understood.”
Unable to relax until the end, Mun I-jong confirmed his aide and men moving out before heading north along the gorge. Glancing at Go Mi en route, he saw she still had quite a distance to the top.
The assassins climbing the cliff had closed the gap considerably.
*This should be…….*
Mun I-jong finally eased his mind.
* * *
After a harrowing climb, a sinister aura surged toward Go Mi as she crested the cliff.
Go Mi threw herself sideways with all her strength.
Whoosh-crack-boom!
Beyond the billowing dust, Hongwol assassins charged.
Go Mi plunged straight into the forest.
It was a razor-thin escape. A few more breaths’ delay, and she would have been done for.
Rustle-crash!
Go Mi barreled through blocking underbrush, running and running. Even amid it all, she desperately hoped Hwa Ryeong had gotten away safely as she veered toward the pass leading to the Imperial Palace.
Scree!
Sinister energies flew from all directions, one grazing her shoulder.
But Go Mi couldn’t stop.
How much farther did she run?
The dense forest ended, opening into a clearing.
Go Mi glanced back. Two pursuers closed in ferociously from the nearest point, with at least thirty more behind them.
Scree!
Another sinister energy whistled in, this time slicing her side.
A searing pain drained her strength in an instant, but Go Mi clenched her teeth and ran with everything she had.
That was when it happened.
“No you don’t, wench.”
A figure blocked her path ahead.
Go Mi stared at the sword tip shimmering with sword energy, recalling the technique Yi Hwan had taught her.
Something she had never used in real combat manifested through her sword.
Flash!
“……!”
The foe’s eyes bulged. He must have been caught off guard by Go Mi’s bolt-from-the-blue strike with no warning.
Hesitation meant death.
Thud!
“Argh!”
The severed head soared high. Go Mi passed beneath, drenched in spraying blood.
The dead man had been superior to Go Mi.
But Yi Hwan’s technique surpassed what he could handle, making him this futile victim.
Go Mi wasn’t unscathed either. With her stamina nearly spent, unleashing a beyond-her-level move tangled her qi and blood, disrupting her breath for a moment. That lapse slowed her pace.
In an instant, the distance to her pursuers shrank to within ten paces.
Go Mi eyed the path ahead.
Figures raced fiercely along the flanking forests. She had to break through before they sealed her route.
But she had no confidence she could.
That was when it happened. A sinister energy flew from behind—stronger than any before, crushing down on her entire body.
Go Mi kept her speed while twisting backward, swinging her sword with all her might.
Boom!
“……!”
Amid the explosion, Go Mi’s slender frame flew into the forest like a puppet with cut strings.
“Capture her! Grand Overseer’s orders!”
The attacker leaped into the forest. Just then, a ray of light flashed from beyond the trees.
“……!”
The leaping man twisted away in horror. The light grazed his chest by a hair’s breadth.
In the assassin’s shocked eyes, Go Mi’s figure pierced the forest like a dagger.
“Damnable wench!”
He realized it then: Go Mi had used the impact to dive into the woods.
Drip-drip!
Blood fell where Go Mi had passed. The assassins smirked at the sight.
“Well, it’d be weirder if she were unscathed.”
* * *
“Blegh!”
Go Mi vomited blood surging to her throat as she ran. Her mind cleared for a moment, but her body grew leaden, heavy as mountains.
Despair, that monster, began slowly eroding her mind. Her body had long surpassed its limits, and her will was crumbling too.
In the end, the assassins overtook her, dropping down ahead to block her path.
Rustle!
“Why not call it quits?”
“Haa…….”
Harsh breaths escaped through Go Mi’s parched lips.
One assassin stepped forward.
“I’ll give you credit for your tenacity.”
He meant it.
“Surrender quietly, and I’ll spare your life.”
“Hmph! Your boss must have ordered you to take me alive?”
The answer came from behind.
“I’m more than willing to give you that chance.”
Whoosh!
With a gust, Mun I-jong landed in the midst of them.
Go Mi slowly turned her gaze to him. Their eyes locked across the air.
*It’s over.*
Go Mi despaired. But the voice escaping her lips was icy.
“I may die here, but can you lot handle what comes after?”
“We’ll manage just fine. Your ally who went for reinforcements is probably dead by now.”
At Mun I-jong’s words, Go Mi despaired once more.
*So it was discovered after all?*
“We ran into her on the way. I came here because you mattered more, and my men pursued. If she was sent to the Fourth Imperial Prince for aid, don’t hold your breath.”
As he spoke, Mun I-jong inwardly chuckled. Meant to shake her, he caught the flicker in her eyes.
“I’ll give you one last chance to choose.”
Mun I-jong stepped forward.
“I rate your talent very highly. High enough that I’ve wanted to kill you more than anyone. So choose life. You’ll enjoy greater glory than ever before.”
“The Empress’s will?”
“For now, consider it mine.”
“You? Don’t make me laugh. A mere dog for Yi Hwan.”
“……What?”
Ptoo!
Go Mi spat blood-mixed phlegm and raised her sword in both hands. Even if she died, she’d fight to the end and take at least one more with her.
“Enough prattle. Come on.”
Mun I-jong’s sharply narrowed eyes soon thinned further.
“If you insist on rejecting the cup of wine, no choice. But don’t dream of an easy death. I’ll hack off your limbs and hang you like dog meat at Golden Army headquarters.”
Shing.
Mun I-jong drew his sword. Since he’d kill her anyway, he planned to finish it with his own hands.
The barest courtesy to Go Mi? Hardly.
In his mind, she wasn’t free of blame for his son’s death, and for vengeance, he intended a miserable end for her.
*I was going to interrogate her alive, then toss her to my men as a plaything.*
Truth be told, the sudden shift to capture stemmed more from this.
Sizzle.
Sword force flowing along the blade was blood-red—a mark of those bearing demonic qi.
The crimson sword force even dyed Go Mi’s eyes red.
In this moment, Yi Hwan’s face resurfaced in her mind.
*Forgive me, Great Prince.*
Emotion surged again.
But she clenched her molars and poured her remaining strength into her sword.
Mun I-jong slowly advanced on her.
“Hunting dogs die quick if they pick the wrong master. So don’t blame me.”
“That sounds more like something for your son.”
“……!”
Tremble……
Had he touched a reverse scale?
Mun I-jong’s eyes shook once, then filled with venomous killing intent.